


Undercover

by BDA



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Undercover Missions, Undercover as a Couple
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:28:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28373916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BDA/pseuds/BDA
Summary: Nymphadora Tonks, still reeling from turmoil at home, agrees to a decidedly dangerous undercover mission. The ruse? She is pretending to be Remus Lupin's girlfriend. Together they must get to the bottom of a dark plot, while trying to work through the complicated tangle of their true feelings for one another.
Relationships: Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks
Comments: 54
Kudos: 46





	1. Trouble at Home

**Author's Note:**

> Did I start another multi-chapter fic? Yes  
> Did I start another multi-chapter pretend relationship fic? Yes  
> Am I sorry? No
> 
> :)

The sound of multiple quiet conversations and the tinkle of dishes and cutlery was a background noise that was beginning to sound like home to Tonks. The usual din of a post-Order meeting meal was so familiar and comforting to her now after nearly eighteen months with the underground resistance group. She was so used to it in fact, that she could probably predict what each cluster of members was discussing at that very moment with a startling level of accuracy – no need for a seer or a legilimens. 

Bill, Charlie, Kingsley, Arthur, and Sirius were most likely engrossed in a heated debate over quidditch. Charlie and Bill were massive Chudleigh Cannons fans, Kingsley favoured Puddlemere United, Arthur was somewhat evasive on his top pick, and Sirius very vocally supported the Holyhead Harpies because he fancied the keeper.

Molly, Emmeline and Elphius Dodge were no doubt engaging in a bit of gossip, or rather, as Molly called it, ‘keeping up to date on the goings on’. The latest juicy information going around the order is that Sturgis Podmore and Hestia Jones are reportedly ‘keeping company’. Tonks couldn’t help but laugh whenever she heard that little gossip group going on with the way they spoke and the things that they found scandalous.

Remus, Minerva, Hagrid, and a varied group of other Order members were probably reminiscing about the old days, discussing current events, or sharing thoughts on some book or the other. Hagrid liked to corner Remus to talk about whichever dangerous creature he was trying to change public perception of lately, as Remus was willing to be a sympathetic ear to it and was unlikely to tell him he was mad for caring about fanged flobberworms or venomous acramantulas. 

There was such a quiet predictability to these times that you could almost forget why they were all gathered here in the first place. You could forget the war looming overhead and the futile nature of their fight. Tonks sighed. Now she had gone and depressed herself.

These quiet moments of chatter were always at such odds to the tense planning sessions, depressing announcements, or heated disagreements that always preceded them. The meetings themselves were not peaceful or comforting. The topics varied from meeting to meeting, or they had, until the other side’s focus on the prophecy had become clear to them. Now every conversation felt like it was about the prophecy, with more bad news thrown in just to break it up. It sometimes felt like they were just going around in circles. Tonight, they had been tallying up the list of disappearances, trying to decide if there was a pattern or any logic to who was disappearing. So far, they could not find any. 

“Hey, little cousin, staying for drinks?” Sirius appeared at her shoulder, offering her a bottle of fire whiskey. 

“No, can’t, sorry Sirius.” She mourned. “I need to be getting home. Alec will be wondering where I am.”

“Ah, him indoors can’t handle you having your own social life is it?” Sirius gruffed.

“No, it’s not like that, it’s just…He knows my shift at the ministry ends at five, and its already quarter to six. He’s getting suspicious so I shouldn’t really be pushing my luck.” She explained.

“So, you’re only allowed to be at home or at work unless you’re with him?” Sirius pushed.

“No! It’s not like that… Alec is a good guy, he just a bit…”

“He’s just a bit controlling? He’s just a bit of a dick? All of the above?”

“Leave off Sirius.” Tonks told him firmly.

Sirius made it no secret that he was not a fan of Tonks’ boyfriend, Alec. Tonks sometimes would share frustrations with him and Remus when she came over for a visit, and so Sirius had just gotten the wrong impression about him. Alec really was a stand-up guy, the kind of guy mothers everywhere adore and dream of having for a son in law. He had a good position at the ministry in the Regulatory Office, doing boring but important work. He had ambitions to move higher, that was important to her mother. He came from a good family and had a solid financial standing. He was popular and had a good reputation socially. 

There were many, many things about him that made him a great catch, so the fact that he was unhappy with her working too many extra shifts was not that big of a deal. He could be a little self-centred at times, she supposed, but other than that he was such a good guy.

The biggest issue of their relationship was that he didn’t know she was working for the Order. Tonks hated lying to him, but he was too firmly behind Fudge to be trusted with that kind of information, so instead he believed she was just taking crazy amounts of overtime at the Ministry. It was a dangerous game she was playing, but necessary for their relationship to work.

“I’m just saying, why are you even with a guy who isn’t on our side?” Sirius pressed.

“It’s not that he’s not on our side, it’s just that he backs Fudge. He was a strong supporter of Fudge before all this began and now, he hasn’t seen what we have to make him think anything other than what Fudge is telling everyone. We can’t hate him for believing the company line that is being fed to everyone.” Tonks retorted, hating how defensive she sounded.

“Uh, yes, we can fault him for that! Everyone in this room knows the company line is complete bullshit, so if your boyfriend is that much of a ignorant fuckwad-“ Sirius’ voice was rising, but he was cut off by Remus who appeared at his side and put a steadying hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“Sirius.” Remus’ hoarse voice stopped his tirade in its tracks. “It’s not our place to tell Tonks who she should or shouldn’t date.”

“Funny you would say that.” Sirius replied, cryptically, before he stomped off in another direction.

“Sorry about him, he’s just upset about what they’re saying about Harry.” Remus explained.

“Of course. He really cares about Harry, doesn’t he?” Tonks said, and immediately felt like an idiot. Duh, Sirius cared about Harry.

“Yes, he does.” Remus agreed. “Try not to let Sirius’ moods get to you. Things have been hard, since…” He trailed off, looking for a way to describe twelve years of wrongful imprisonment in a prison where you were tortured with your own nightmares, then gave up and amended, “Well, nothing is easy right now. You know your own mind.”

She nodded. “Thanks, Lupin. I better get going.”

“I’ll walk you to the door” he offered.

“Alright then.” She said, somewhat dubiously, as they walked to the cramped entryway. What was he on about, walking her to the door? She found Lupin to be a bit of a bit of a conundrum. He always made her feel awkward, even though he didn’t do it on purpose. They had an uncomfortable first meeting, and a spectacularly mortifying second meeting, and now she was condemned to feel awkward around him at some moment or the other for the rest of eternity, it seemed.

“Well, this is me off then.” She said with false cheer, once her shoes were on.

“Have a good evening.” Remus said, rather formally.

She hesitated a moment at the door in case he had wanted to catch her alone for some reason, but he made no move to say anything more so she slipped out the door and made her way to the apparition point.

She was still pondering what he was doing as she closed the door to her flat and kicked off her trainers.

“Hello?” she called into the flat.

“Nymph! You’re nearly ninety minutes late!” Alec called as he came round the corner to meet her. She wished he would call her Tonks like just about everyone else, but he refused.

Okay, she was barely more than an hour late, that was pushing it. 

“Sorry, babe, I just got caught up in those stupid incident reports for that Griever case that I lost track of time” She blabbered.

“But I saw Shacklebolt heading out bang on five o’clock! Didn’t you work the Griever case together?” Alec pressed.  
“Ugh, don’t talk to me about Shacklebolt. The man has a stick so far up his ass… I swear he enjoys writing those reports.” She groaned. “What matters is that I have finally done them, and now I am here with you.” She murmured, pressing a lingering kiss to the corner of his mouth.

“Better late than never, I suppose.” He responded, still sounding put out.

“Now, I am going to go get naked and get into the shower. You can stay here and sulk if you like.” She began walking towards the bedroom, unbuttoning her shirt as she went. “Or you can join me.” She offered over her shoulder.

At least Alec was a man of simple pleasures, and he could be easily diverted with sex, she thought, as his mood shifted instantly, and he ambled after her into the bedroom. 

Sex with Alec was fine, it was good. It just wasn’t…satisfying. That sounded horrible, but she wasn’t sure how else to describe it. It felt like they were going through the motions, really.

They kissed a little, they undressed each other, they kissed some more. They got into the shower, they kissed some more, they played around with washing each other a little, until he was ready to go, that is. Then he pressed her into the shower wall and slid into her. He always set up a bruising pace from the get-go, as though he was going to impress her with the speed and force of his thrusts. She had tried, a few times, to gently suggest alternate strategies, but he got really touchy when he thought she was criticizing him. She muttered encouragements to him and moaned at the appropriate points, and when he gave a shrill cry and collapsed against her she pretended to find her own release. He did make her come. Or, he had, a few times, but not always. But that was normal, in any relationship. He made up for being less than attentive in bed for how attentive he was elsewhere; she could live with a lackluster sex life for all the positives of their relationship.

However, as they cuddled up together in bed a little while later, she was reminded of the fact that she would not always be able to divert him with sex. At some point, she was going to actually need to have a better explanation for her strange hours than a smattering of excuses.

“Maybe I should go down there and tell those cronies in your office not to keep leaving the only woman in the department with all the paperwork, eh?” Alec mumbled into the pillow. “Then you could finally have your evenings to yourself.”

Shit. If he did that, he’d learn that she really was clocking out on time, and she’d be trouble, with him, and with the department, who would want to know what she was hiding. 

She was going to have to figure something out, and fast. For now, she pretended to be asleep.


	2. Tick-Tick-Tick

It turns out, Tonks would not have to make a decision about how to handle her relationship, it would be decided for her later that week. It was work, after all, that brought about the fate of her relationship with Alec. Fitting, really. 

Tonks was sent out to Hogsmeade with Dawlish to investigate a noise complaint. It was not uncommon for them to receive a complaint such as this, normally it was just some old biddy who didn’t like her neighbour’s music, or, in Hogsmeade especially, it was students having fun too loudly that was to blame. It was really beginning to infuriate her, that they were dealing with trivial calls such as this when there was a war brewing that no one was acknowledging or working against. Besides the Order, that is.

This call was a little unusual, as it was only August and so the call couldn’t be about students making noise on a Hogsmeade weekend. This left it a little up in the air what the caller’s complaint would be. Still, there had been no reason to believe that things would turn out as bizarre and disastrous as they had.

Tonks and Dawlish had arrived at the complainant’s residence, a quaint cottage on the far edge of Hogsmeade village and waited several minutes after knocking for the door to open.

The door opened just a crack, just enough for the round face of a timid young woman to peer out at them. “Hello?” she phrased her greeting as a question.

“Good afternoon, ma’am, Aurors Dawlish,” he gestured to himself, “and Tonks,” he gestured to her, “responding to a call about a noise complaint.” He stated matter-of-factly.

“Oh, yes, of course. Please come in.” The woman opened to door to admit them. 

They stepped into the entryway and the woman stepped back to give them room. Tonks glanced around at the dark entryway, gathering any data she could on their caller. She noted that the walls were bare, there were no photographs hung anywhere she could see. She noted that the cottage smelled of damp and disuse, despite the fact that it was clearly occupied. She noted the way the young woman clutched protectively at her round belly, clearly close to a full-term pregnancy. 

“What is your name, ma’am?” Dawlish asked.

“Anne.” The woman responded. Tonks noted that she would not meet their gaze, preferring to look a little over their shoulders.

“Anne. What seems to be the trouble?” Dawlish asked.

The woman seemed hesitant to answer. “There’s this noise.” She said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes, to be expected with a noise complaint.” Tonks wanted to say. What Tonks actually said was: “What kind of noise?”

Anne chewed at her lip. “Look at me, so impolite. Please, come take a seat in the next room. Can I interest you in some tea?” She wandered down the hall and they followed her into a small sitting room.

“No, thank you. Could you describe this noise for us?” Dawlish pressed.

Anne lowered herself heavily into an armchair before her hands began compulsively stroking at her belly. “It’s- It’s a ticking noise.” She muttered, her voice gripped with terror.

“A- ticking noise?” Dawlish repeated, shooting Tonks a look which clearly said: welcome to crazy town, population: Anne.

“Yes. It’s terrible. It never stops. Just… tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.” Anne babbled.

“Do you have any clocks in the house?” Dawlish asked.

“No. Got rid of them. Got rid of them all. But it won’t stop. It does, I mean, sometimes. But then it comes back. Tick. Tick. Tick. Sometimes loud, but sometimes quiet. So quiet. That’s when you know…” Anne told them. “I think- I think its not a noise at all. I think-“

But whatever Anne thought it was, was interrupted by the front door opening and heavy footsteps coming down the hall. A man appeared in the sitting room with them, and he did not look pleased to see them.

“Afternoon.” He said gruffly, turning to look at Anne. “What are you doing, love? Troubling these nice aurors with… this.” He turned to Tonks and Dawlish. “So sorry to you both, I’m Greg, Anne’s husband. I’ve been telling her not to trouble the authorities with this.” He said apologetically. “this old cottage makes all sorts of strange noises, and with the baby coming soon, I think nerves are just a little frazzled.” He sat down beside his wife, the picture of ease. Or, at least, he was trying to portray ease. Tonks noticed that his hands were shaking, before he clasped them in his lap. 

Something was wrong here. Tonks could just feel it, but she wasn’t sure what it was. Greg wiped at the sweat on his brow, giving them a painted smile. 

Dawlish plodded along with routine questions- how long had they been hearing the noise? Had they had the house inspected? Were they on any medications?

“Do you mind if I just take a look around?” Tonks asked after a break in Dawlish’s questions. He shot her a questioning look.

“Oh, no, please, look wherever you like.” Greg responded. 

Tonks rose from the couch and slipped down the hall, peering into the kitchen. Tidy. No dishes in the sink or the drain. Nothing pinned to the fridge. She moved on down the hall. No pictures hung here, either. One door revealed a linen closet, mostly bare, except for a few pillowcases. Another door revealed a bathroom, nothing of note. The next door she tried was a small guest room, with an empty dresser and a tightly made single bed. The last door appeared to be the master bedroom. No photographs in here either. Just a queen-sized bed and men and women’s clothes hung in the closet. Nothing stood out. Tonks could not shake the feeling that something was missing. There was another feeling that she could not shake, a feeling caught in her belly, coiled tight, that had been with her ever since they entered the cottage. Now, standing in this dark, expressionless room, she realized what that feeling was. It was dread. Cold, senseless, dread.

The dread filled the room, filled the whole cottage. It dripped from the ceiling and seeped up out of the floorboards, thick and dark as molasses. Every inch of this house was filled with dread. 

And then she heard it.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

It was loud, she couldn’t believe she hadn’t heard it before. So loud.

Tonks tried to shake herself out of this fog, but dread is so paralyzing. What wasn’t she seeing? There was something in her mind, trying to claw out of the dread muck, something that would explain what was happening here, but dread was muffling it. 

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

The dread coiled in her belly made it feel tight and cramped. She put a hand to her stomach to try to ease the feeling that she knew deep down was entirely psychological. And then she realized what was missing. 

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

There wasn’t a single baby item in the house. Not one. But Anne looked full term. Who didn’t prepare for the baby ahead of time? No crib, no diapers, no clothes. As if through a dense fog, Tonks tried to grasp the strands of thought that would illuminate why this was so important.

Tick.

tick.

tick.

Tonks realized with a start that the ticking had grown quieter and quieter. What had Anne said? “Sometimes its quiet. That’s when you know…” Know what? A floorboard creaked and Tonks whirled around. 

Anne stood in the doorway, blocking the light that feebly tried to filter in.

“So sorry.” Was all she said.

“Sorry? For what?” Tonks asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

“The noise. Tick. Tick. Tick. I think- I think its not a noise at all. I think- I think its me.” Anne said.

Then she lunged.

Tonks awoke to the bright sterile lights of Saint Mungos. She groaned. Damn. She tried to pull herself up to a sitting position and found that she was extremely sore. She gingerly lay back again. What the hell had happened with Anne? She couldn’t remember anything after Anne leaping at her.

She heard the door slide open and made a second attempt to sit up. It was a struggle, but she succeeded this time. Her spirits fell when she realized that the man who had just entered her room was not her boyfriend, here to fuss over her and comfort her, or even her partner to explain what the hell had happened in that house, but her boss, Rufus Scrimgeour.

No one wants to see Rufus Scrimgeour in their hospital room immediately after a mission gone bad. One thing was certain: he was not here to check up on her well-being.

“Sir.” She said, surprised by how slurred her voice was. She must be on some powerful potions. “Sir- the couple they’re Aswangs. We need- we need-“

“Don’t trouble yourself, Nymphadora. Wouldn’t want you to pop your stitches.” He told her. He came to stand at her bedside, looking at her in that strange, detached way that he approached everything.

“What happened?” She asked.

“It appears that the couple in that house were overcome by an Aswang.” She had already figured that out, but okay. “The husband travelled frequently for work, it must have started with him come back to Europe as him, and then moved on to the wife.” Scrimgeor said. “The creatures were neutralized.”

Aswangs were shapeshifting creatures out of Asiatic countries that prayed on victims, consuming them and taking on their form. They especially loved to prey on pregnant women.

“How terrible. I’ve never encountered an Aswang before.”

“They aren’t often encountered outside of Asiatic countries, the Phillipines most commonly, but as I said, the husband travelled for work.” Scrimgeour added. 

“How’s Dawlish, sir?” Tonks asked.

“Oh, John will be just fine. A separated shoulder, and some bruising, but he is on the mend and has already been discharged.” Scrimgeour told her.

She exhaled in relief. 

“I’m sure I’ll be discharged soon, as well, sir. I’m only a bit sore, I should be up and about in no time.” She assured him, not wanting to get stuck with boring jobs, or worse, desk duty.

“Oh no rush, no rush, Nymphadora. Rest, recover, until you are cleared by internal affairs, you will be on leave anyways.”

“What? Why am I being investigated by internal affairs?” She demanded.

Scrimgeour looked perplexed. “You allowed yourself to be overcome by two clearly dangerous individuals. You left your partner, leaving both yourself and him vulnerable to attack. Need I go on?”

“But sir-“

“Now, now, shhhhh. No need to get worked up. Internal affairs will investigate, and if you are cleared you will be able to return to work shortly. This is standard procedure, you know that.” Scrimgeour assured her, in his annoyingly placating voice. “I will leave you to rest.” He patted her condescendingly on the arm before exiting her hospital room. 

Tonks flopped back in bed, immediately regretting it as it sent a searing pain through her shoulders. She gingerly eased herself up and out of bed and hobbled into the adjoining washroom where she took stock of herself in the full-length mirror there. She could see nasty bruising blooming across both shoulders, no doubt where Anne had made contact when she leaped at her. A bit of twisting and turning and pulling of her hospital gown revealed scratches to her chest and back and a nasty bruise to the back of her left thigh. Inspection of her scalp revealed a deep cut that had needed to be closed with dittany. 

She was just concluding her inspection when she heard the sound of the door to her room. She poked her head around the bathroom door and was relieved to see Alec there, holding a large bouquet of roses.

“Alec!” She greeted him, hobbling over to give him a hug. He gave her an awkward one-arm hug as he leaned away to rest the bouquet down on the windowsill.

“Hey babe.” He greeted her. 

She was struck by his tone. He did not sound relieved to see her up and about, or worried about her. He sounded… resigned. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “I’m alright, it looks worse than it is, really.”

“Why don’t you sit down?” He suggested.

She tried not to overthink, but this definitely seemed like a Its Not You, It’s Me talk. She made her way back to the bed and took a seat. He came to stand by the bed besides her.

“Listen, babe. I’m really glad you are alright. I was worried about you.” He does not sound like he had been worried about her.

“But?”

“But, I heard from one of the guys that they are opening an internal affairs investigation into how this was handled, and well, you can imagine how that puts me in a spot.”

“What, what do you mean, puts you in a spot?” she asked, genuinely unsure what this had to do with him.

“Come on, Nymph. You know I’ve been trying to get into internal affairs for ages. I’ve got ambitions. I’m going places, everyone says so. I have a real upward trajectory. But being associated with an investigation like this…it just looks bad for me, don’t you see?” 

“Wow. So, my being attacked on the job might hurt your job prospects?” she repeated, incredulously.

“I’m glad you get it. I just don’t want a connection with a fumbled case-“

“a fumbled case?! We didn’t fumble that case, it went south, yeah, but there were no indications that they were violent-“

“Oh please-“

“Its easy for everyone to say in hindsight it was obvious, no one else would have gone into a routine noise complaint call and expected it to be a bloody dark creature trap!” Tonks retorted, her voice rising. 

“Now, no need to get so defensive, babe! I just wish you would think about my career-“

“Fuck your career! I’m lying in a hospital bed and all you can worry about is your career!” she spat.

“Well, I wanted us to be civil, but I can see that won’t be possible. I want us to take a break. Just until this blows over.” He stated plainly.

“Take- Take a break. You’re breaking up with me?” she questioned.

“No, not breaking up. Just taking a break. Just for a little while.” He amended.

She could do nothing but stare at him for several long moments.

“Fine. Fine, Alec. Great, actually. I think it’s a great idea to take a break right now. We can talk again when you’re not acting like such a crazy person.” She said, feeling like the world was tilting off of its axis.

“I’m glad you see it my way. Take care.” 

She did not watch him leave, only stared up at the ceiling until after she heard the door click shut and his footsteps recede down the hall.

An hour and a half later saw Tonks discharged from St. Mungo’s and kicking off her shoes in the narrow entryway of Grimmauld Place. She had been here only last night, but it felt like a week had passed since she left. She could really use a shot of Ogden’s and a chat with her favourite cousin. Despite his continued tirade against her boyfriend, Tonks knew she would hear no ‘I told you so’s from him, he was good like that. 

She wandered down into the kitchen, avoiding that wretched umbrella stand. Her cousin was not seated at his usual spot at the table, though. The kitchen was deserted, except for Remus who was stood at the sink filling the kettle. He turned when he heard her descend the stairs into the kitchen.

“Tonks! What happened?” He said with alarm, putting down the kettle and coming over to her.

“Oh, its nothing, looks worse than it is.” She brushed off his concern. “I was hoping to find Sirius actually, have you seen him?”

“Yes, he’s in a meeting at the moment. Hestia and Mad-Eye.” Remus explained. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Ah, its nothing really. I was just hoping for a sympathetic ear.” She said dejectedly.

“Well, they may not be the ones you were hoping for, but I’ve got two right here.” He said, gesturing at his ears in a way that made her smile, despite herself.

“Thanks, Remus, but I don’t want to trouble you.” She said.

“It’s no trouble, really. I’m happy to listen.” When she still looked unsure, he added, “I was just about to make tea, can I at least fix you a cuppa?”

“Yeah, that would be great thanks.” She relaxed. Tea was an easy ice breaker, and it gave you something to do with your hands when conversation became awkward.

She took a seat at the table and he joined her a few minutes later, placing a cup of perfectly prepared Earl Grey in front of her. She was a little surprised to notice that he knew how she took her tea without having to ask, but she didn’t comment on it.

“Ta, Thanks, Remus.” She said, warming her hands on the steaming mug.

“Happy to oblige.” He said, taking a seat.

They sat in companionable silence for a little while. Tonks was grateful that he didn’t press her for information, as she was sure she would have done something embarrassing like burst into tears if he had. Instead, he simply sat with her and they sipped their tea as they waited for it to cool.

Eventually, when she felt composed, she described her day. She explained all about the creepy house and the call gone wrong, how she had been put on leave pending investigation. Remus listened without judgement, giving her the space to say everything she wanted before he replied.

“You can’t beat yourself up over that, Tonks.” He said calmly.

“I assure you, I can.” She retorted.

His lips quirked up into a smile. “I mean, Aswangs are incredibly rare. The likelihood of running into one is… I’m not even sure what it is it’s so unlikely. There was nothing in that situation to suggest those two were actually dark creatures taking on the form of the couple. No one would suspect that. You worked it out though, you realized there was something off, you investigated. Not your fault you were attacked by that creature.”

“It’s kind of you to say so. It just doesn’t feel great right now, knowing I’m going to be investigated and everyone thinks I screwed up big time.” She mourned.

“Yeah, I know the feeling.” He replied guardedly.

She was taken back to their first meeting, to the day two years ago when he sat in a ministry interrogation room and she grilled him about his connection to Sirius Black. She flushed at the memory. It had made things awkward between them at first, when they had met the second time. To have seen him as a suspect in the first ever Azkaban break out, to see him as a suspect who may have been aiding and abetting a mass murderer, and then meeting him as an ally in the fight for their side was quite jarring and uncomfortable. She still regretted how she had misjudged him but had never really found a way to express that to him, because of how she had bungled their second meeting.

“What else?” He pressed.

“Hmm?” She studied her mug, playing ignorance for a moment.

“Well, you’re here, looking to talk to Sirius but settling for talking with me,” she opened her mouth to object, “it’s alright, but why aren’t you at home with that boyfriend of yours?”

Tonks sighed. Remus was too perceptive. “He gave me the old heave ho.” She explained miserably.

“What? When?”

“When he came to see me at St. Mungo’s. He was less checking up on me and more making sure I know not to look at him in public or whatever.”

“Why? What reason could he possibly have for dumping you while you’re in hospital?” Remus questioned, looking appalled.

“He has ambitions, he doesn’t want my dirty record dragging him down.” She said. “and we haven’t broken up, we’re just taking a break.”

Remus looked as though he had a few choice words for that, but he was too polite to say them out loud. “I’m really sorry Tonks. I wish there was something I could do to help.”

“You have helped. I appreciate the tea. And the listening ears.” She assured him.

Just then, Sirius, Hestia, and Mad-Eye descended into the kitchen. 

“Ah, you’re both here, perfect.” Sirius said when he saw them. “We need your help.”


	3. Fortuitous

Sirius, Hestia, and Mad-Eye joined them at the table. Tonks eyed them warily. Sirius opened his mouth to continue with whatever he had wanted to say, but stopped as he seemed to notice her appearance for the first time.

“Jesus, Tonks. What the hell happened to you?”

Tonks sighed¬¬ deeply, and then re-explained the mission gone wrong, her extended leave, and Alec putting them ‘on a break’. Hestia tutted with sympathy.

“What have I told you about constant vigilance, girl?” Mad-Eye said gruffly. Tonks, who had known him for long enough now, knew this was the grizzled senior auror’s way of showing concern. She simply shrugged in a ‘what can you do?’ sort of way that she knew would rile him up.

“I’m glad you’re alright.” Sirius said.

“Yeah, I’m alright. Just not looking forward to having all this unexpected free time. I want to be busy.” She said.

“Actually, I think I can give you something to keep busy.” Sirius offered.

“Hit me. I’ll do anything not to sit around my flat going stir crazy.”

“Sirius.” Remus interrupted. “I don’t think this is what Tonks has in mind. Don’t trouble her with this.”

“Don’t be so daft. It’s Order work.” Sirius said, his tone calling for Remus to argue otherwise.

“I know that- but- We shouldn’t ask this of her when she’s just been through all this.” Remus urged.

“How about we let Tonks speak for herself.” Sirius countered.

Tonks looked between the two men, curious what Sirius was going to be asking of her, but unsure if she wanted to be the one to make such a divisive decision.

Sirius turned to her now. “So, here’s the gig. You know how we’ve been trying to get eyes and ears near these meet ups, trying to find out about recruitment, and maybe get some intel on the disappearances?”

Tonks nodded.

“We’ve had Dung on it, he fits into these seedy shitholes” Hestia tittered. “But he’s going to get recognizable. The Death Eaters are going to notice that Dung shows up everywhere they go. Especially if he’s trying to hit more than one meeting in a day.”

“I’m with you.” She acknowledged.

“We need to get more eyes and ears into the rotation.”

“I agree…”

“We’ve noticed that some of these places that the meetings are held would be perfect for a couple.” Sirius explained. “A couple that perhaps didn’t want to be caught together, a couple that maybe weren’t publicly known as a couple …”

The task became clear. “You want me and Remus to pretend to be having some kind of illicit affair so we can get intel.”

“That’s the gist of it.” Sirius confirmed plainly. “It doesn’t have to be you of course, but seeing as you have the free time, and you are currently unattached…”

“We’re just on a break.” She said automatically.

“See, Sirius, I said you shouldn’t ask her. She’s got a boyfriend.” Remus interjected. “Who would believe we were a couple anyways? I’m far too old for her.”

Tonks glanced at Remus in his patched brown sweater over a white button up, which he had buttoned up all but one button of, and his brown tweed trousers and his ratty socks with a hole near the toes. She imagined how different his style was to hers, in appearance and interests, as she thought of how at odds, she looked next to him, with her hair, an electric blue bob today, and her weird sisters tee and ripped jeans. No one would believe the responsible, gentlemanly ex-professor would date a clumsy, boisterous witch like her. 

“I don’t know about you being old, but we aren’t exactly an obvious match. I mean- what do we have in common?” She asked. She hadn’t meant that to be offensive, but the red staining to Remus’ cheeks told her that that is how he had perceived it. 

“It’s not details like that that sell the con, it’s how well you can act like you’re having an illicit affair that sells it.” Sirius informed them sagely. “If you two can act like lovers, that’s how you’ll sell it, not having the same style or the same decade of birth.”

Tonks glanced and Remus. He didn’t look excited by the idea, but he looked as though his stance had shifted.

“I’ll do it. For the Order.” She said.

“Remus?” Sirius pressed.

“If Tonks is willing, than so am I.”

“Great! This is going to be fantastic. You’ll see.” He said this with far too much glee for her liking. “As we get intel about meetings and locations, we will let you know when and where to be. You’ll have to be prepared for a variety of situations.”

“Such as?” Remus spoke her thought aloud.

“Well, we’ve intercepted word of meetings occurring at a range of places, from high society parties to that freaky sex dungeon in Aberfield.” 

“Oh my.” Hestia blushed at the mere mention.

Remus looked like he was going to have a heart attack or something. “What the hell is a sex dungeon?”

“Oh, come on, old friend, you cannot convince me you don’t remember your twentieth birthday party.” Sirius teased.

Remus flushed dark red. “Oh gods. You’re trying to kill me. This is punishment for something, isn’t it?”

“Who says its punishment? Maybe it’s a gift.”

“For yourself maybe.”

“As thrilling as your opinions of sex dungeons are, can we get back to the matter at hand?” Mad-Eye groused.

“Lighten up, Mad-Eye. We’ll get there.” Sirius said with a haphazard wave of his hand. “You’ve got the main details – you need to be secret undercover lovers but actually be listening out for information. The particulars will change depending on the location and the sorts of intel you are listening out for, but you’ve got the broad strokes.”

“Hang on, if the con is that we are us, but having an illicit affair, how will we get into high society parties? Neither of us are the high society type. How does that fit into the image?” Tonks queried.

“Well, I was mostly naming locations of known meetings, not necessarily all places you two will go.” Sirius amended. “We would need a good cover story for something like that.”

Tonks was more nervous about the fact that she would have to pretend to be Remus’ lover than about when and where she would have to do it. She made an absolute twit of herself every time she was around him, without fail. How was she going to convincingly play his lover when she felt so stupid around him, and he acted so nervous and uncomfortable? This was a disaster in the making, but she wasn’t going to turn down Order work just so she could try to limit the amount of times Remus Lupin watched her make a fool of herself.

The first meeting, where she met him as an auror conducting an interview on a man who may have orchestrated or assisted in the escape of a mass-murderer from Azkaban, was very embarrassing to look back on now. At the time, she had been quite harsh in her thoughts about this mysterious Remus Lupin, former best friend of Sirius Black. She had been desperate to prove herself and show that she was not at all sympathetic to her traitorous cousin, and she knew she had been awfully hard on Remus in that interrogation. It had been especially frustrating because he didn’t look anything like the sort of man who would be friends with a mass murdering traitor, so she felt like she had to try harder to be harsh to show that she wasn’t taken in by the sweater vest and the gentle voice. I mean, who expected to meet a werewolf in a sweater vest?

Then, of course, she had met him again, however this time it was as a new recruit to the Order, meeting a returning Order member. She had been so nervous to meet her cousin that day, knowing he was innocent but having spent so much time hearing that he was an evil killer kind of messes with your head.

She had accompanied Mad-Eye to her first meeting, as it had been him who recruited her. She was glad to see her old mentor looking so well after his troubling year locked in a chest Barty Crouch Jr. The pair had arrived at headquarters and Moody had shown her how to pass through the fidelus charm. He had led her into the dark, dusty building. It was a narrow hallway, even dustier than it was in the present day as not much cleaning had taken place, and it smelled pervasively of disuse and stale air.

“Wait here, lass.” Moody had instructed her, and then he had disappeared down the hall. She had grown nervous as she heard the sound of his thumping, uneven gait grow faint. After what felt like positively ages but was realistically only a minute or two, Tonks had decided to follow him. She had just about reached the end of the hallway when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs just to the right of her and, because she was looking in the direction of the newcomer, she had not seen the troll’s leg umbrella stand.

That damned umbrella stand. Unfortunately, the umbrella stand could only partially be blamed for why this was such an intensely awkward second meeting. 

She tripped over the umbrella stand. One moment she had been looking to see the person at the bottom of the stairs, the next her foot had caught, and she was face planting in the musty old carpet. Or, she would have faceplanted in the musty old carpet, if a pair of strong arms hands hadn’t grabbed her and steadied her. She breathed a sigh of relief and looked up to thank her whoever this stranger was who had rescued her.  
She had been so shocked to see Remus Lupin, though later she would realize she should have been expecting him, that her brain had short circuited for a moment. 

She had intended to thank him.   
She had intended to say hello.   
She had intended to say that she remembered having met him before.  
She had intended to apologise for tripping into his personal space.

She did not say any of these things.

Instead, what came out of her mouth was: “Ack! Werewolf in a sweater vest.”

Yes. She said that. Sirius had laughed his fool head off when this was recounted to him, and he still liked to tease her about it a year later.

He had let her go and stepped back as if burned. He looked as though he expected her to start smacking him with her purse, and, honestly, that may have actually been his worry. Tonks tried to apologise and explain what she had actually meant to say, but she only talked herself deeper into a hole of awkwardness and stumbled apologies. She would try, poorly, to explain herself and apologise and he would assure her that it was him who should apologise, and she would say no it was her who needed to apologise. They continued in this horror of politeness until Mad-Eye had reappeared and saved them from the endless cycle by summoning them both down to the kitchen.

It had been mortifying, and she felt like she just couldn’t ever recover from being that clumsy girl always putting her foot in her mouth around him.

Back in the present, Sirius was trying to shift the topic of conversation. Tonks withdrew herself from her recollections and tried to focus on the task at hand. She wasn’t trying to date Remus Lupin for real, only pretend to be his lover to help the war effort. Simple as that.

“While we are here, if we are all agreeable, let’s go over what we know and or suspect, just so we are all on the same page for the start of this mission.” Sirius suggested. 

Despite his numerous, vocal complaints about not having anything to do, and being forced to sit idly by and not help the Order, Sirius held a rather important role within the resistance, albeit not a glamorous one. Sirius organized the duty roster, assigning the Order members to their tasks and making sure that everyone was able to be of the most use they could be without overworking anyone. He monitored their findings and cross-referenced all the information that came back to headquarters. He was constantly searching for clues and connections, anything that would point them in the right direction to get ahead of Voldemort. Without him probably even realizing it, he had established himself as one of the central figures of the Order, especially as he was much more easily reached than Dumbledore.

The present group agreed, and they went over their missing persons list again. They made notes of locations of abductions or disappearances, notes on suspects and potential motives, and identified the key players or coded messages to be looking out for. Slowly, the mapped out all of their current knowledge, some of their suspicions, and made note of key information that they hoped to gather from the meetings they were going to be intercepting.

When they could do no more with the information currently available to them, the group parted ways, saying goodbye to Mad-Eye and Hestia. Tonks realized, rather late at this point, that she wasn’t sure where to go that night as she spent most nights at Alec’s place. She really didn’t fancy going back to her empty flat that hardly felt like home anymore.

As if sensing her distress, Sirius offered for her to stay in one of the upstairs rooms.

“We’ve cleaned out a few of the rooms on the second floor, people tend to be in and out of those rooms depending on the duty roster and school holidays.” He explained. “We’ve also cleaned two, or is it three? I think two, of the rooms up on the third floor. It’s just me and Remus up there at the moment so it may be more private.”

“Well, how can I turn down a room on the cool kids’ floor?” she joked.

Tonks left briefly to get her things, thankfully Alec wasn’t in, and then she headed back to Grimmauld and up to the third floor to settle in. She picked one of the cleaned rooms across from Sirius’ and next to Remus’. In this creepy old house, she imagined being close to others was better than way off on your own. The men had invited her downstairs for a round of fire whiskey but she had turned them down and instead decided to turn in for the night. It felt like an awful lot had happened in a short frame of time.

As she lay in bed that night, Tonks was swarmed with embarrassing memories of past encounters with Remus. 

There was the time she had asked him to help her polish the silverware, and then she had smacked the utensils out of his hands because she believed that silly old myth about silver harming werewolves. He had been very patient and understanding when he explained that there was a lot of false information floating about on werewolves. 

There was the time that she had asked him about his weekend plans, and he had reminded her that it was the full moon that weekend. She had felt bad for forgetting and didn’t know what the polite thing to say was, so she stumbled rather terribly through an attempt to say something along the lines of good luck, but she was pretty sure just made it sound like she was uncomfortable to be around him that close to the full moon which she hadn’t intended.

Ugh, or the time that she had tripped on a frayed bit of carpet and managed to knock Remus over and mash his plate of sandwiches into his sweater. What a disaster.

Her brain continued to be a revolving door of past embarrassments until sleep finally claimed her and she drifted off.


	4. Lights, Camera, Action

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taking a while to get chapters out now. I am back at work and so I have a lot less time and energy to write. I will try not to let it be too long between chapters!

Despite Sirius’ threats of high society parties and sex dungeons, Tonks and Remus’ first undercover operation was extremely tame. They simply needed to go to Knockturn Alley. There was a bookstore there, ‘Knockturn Books etc.’, that the Order had reason to believe was being used as a recruitment center. Their mission was to listen out for any recruitment talk in the store. Their source claimed the shop owner handed out recruitment information quite frequently, so Tonks and Remus did not expect the information to be hard to come by. They had received intel that the shop owner was making a drop at 11 am that day.

They arrived at Knockturn Alley around 10:30 am, as both she and Remus had agreed that it would be wise to be seen around Knockturn Alley for a bit before they went into the shop, so not as to look suspicious showing up for the drop and leaving right after. While Knockturn Alley had its reputation as a den of depravity and illegality, people did frequent it for legitimate business and so there were no qualms about being seen wandering about.

They strolled casually up one end of the street, looking in windows as they went. Tonks began to regale him with some of the more interesting stories of auror work in Knockturn Alley. 

“The first time I came down here was for a call out, a drunken brawl outside of that pub there.” Tonks recalled, gesturing to the aforementioned establishment as they passed it. “Two women tearing each other’s hair out over, possibly, the scrawniest, most acne ridden man in Britain.”

“Ah, true love doth be fickle.” Remus responded sagely, before he caught her eye and smirked.

“I think my second call out was this lingerie shop, or it might have been the third call out. They have a rule, you see, where, if you try something on, you have to buy it. Makes sense, when you think about it. There was a customer who had tried a few things on but didn’t want to buy it. So we get here, my partner and I, and to our great surprise, the customer is a ministry employee we both knew. His name was Richard, and he was a rather large, hairy gentleman and I have never quite been able to get the image of him standing there with that lace trimmed maid’s outfit out of my head.”

Remus looked unsure whether he was amused or disturbed by this piece of information.

“I mean, to each their own. I have no issue with what anyone wants to do or to wear in their spare time, it’s just awkward to have to tell a work colleague to pay for his sexy lingerie or face legal consequences.”

“I can see how that would make chats around the water cooler a little strained.” Remus agreed.

“Yes, quite.” She nodded. “Anyways, after all these years, that’s still what I think about whenever I come down here.”

“You know, I’ve never actually been down here.” Remus mused. He was looking around them as though a tourist visiting a popular attraction.

“Really?” Tonks asked, her eyebrows raised. 

“Yes, really. Never.” She must have sounded far too surprised, because Remus’ response was clipped, as though she had offended him. “Though, we certainly did try while we were at school. James had a series of ‘brilliantly fool-proof plans’ you see. None of which came even remotely close to working out.”

Tonks smiled indulgently at this recollection. She quite enjoyed hearing about Remus, Sirius, and James’ antics in their youth. Everyone spoke so reverently of James Potter, and their other fallen comrades from the first war. 

“Well, come on then, don’t hold out on me. Let’s hear one of these fool-proof plans.” Tonks pressed.

“Hmm…Oh, I remember a good one. It was the summer after our fourth year. James tried to disillusion himself, but he wasn’t so good at the charm. He was always more of a transfiguration whiz. He didn’t know it, but he only made himself sort-of faded out, but still completely visible. He thought he was completely invisible so he strolled on down those stairs, confident as all get-out, and couldn’t believe it when he was stopped at the bottom of the stairs. He thought the storeowner who caught him was using dark magic ‘to see invisible things’ until the man showed him a mirror and James realized his mistake.”

“He went alone?” Tonks asked.

“Nope. We were there. We waited at the top.”

“Why didn’t you tell him you could still see him?” Tonks asked.

“For a laugh. It was much more fun that way.” He said with a grin. “It definitely kept us laughing, James just couldn’t believe it. He kept insisting, “You can’t see me! I’m invisible!” We laughed so hard I thought Peter was going to wet himself.” 

Despite the ease with which Remus continued regaling her with stories of his youth as they entered the bookstore, Tonks could feel the chill of a moment ruined due to her uncalled-for surprise. To try to salvage some comradery between them, Tonks ran her finger along the spine of one of the books, not reading its title, and said, “This looks like your sort of thing.”

Remus let out a huff of laughter as he pulled one of the books off the shelf that she was pretending to examine. “You think?” he asked.

She glanced at the book in his hand. ‘How to please a witch in six easy steps.’ She looked at the book she had just been pretending to look at. ‘Kinks for all kinds’. Shit.

Of course. Naturally. She is trying to remove her foot from her mouth, so she suggested that grotty erotica novels were his thing. That was definitely going to make him warm up to her.

“I meant books. Books in general. Probably not these ones. Or maybe, I don’t know. You’re entitled to read whatever you like.” Tonks babbled.

Remus grinned at her, seeming to find this very amusing. “Well, thank you for your permission.”

“I didn’t mean-“

“Relax, I’m just joking” he assured her.

Tonks shimmied closer to Remus and pretended to be examining the book in his hand. Remus dutifully opened it up and pretended to be examining a random page. The page claimed to inform on ‘attention to the breasts’ and Tonks wished the floor could just swallow her up and get it done with. 

“Well. Even if this intel doesn’t pan out, at least you can still say you learned something.” Tonks joked.

“What makes you think I need the advice?” he asked and Tonks, if she didn’t know him, might have wondered if he was flirting.

She was saved from thinking of a way to respond by the chiming of the bell over the door, signalling the arrival of another customer.

The customer, an average-looking bloke with non-descript features, glanced around before heading straight to the counter to speak to the shop owner. Tonks felt a spark of success that he had glanced right past them and not considered them as standing out in the otherwise empty shop.

Tonks listened intently to the conversation, but the man was only there to collect his order of Dark Herbology texts. He paid for his order and left. Remus re-shelved the book they were pretending to examine and pulled out another at random. ‘Using magic to make magic in the bedroom’. Tonks tried very hard not to laugh when she read the title. 

They flicked through such scintillating pages as: ‘How levitation can elevate your oral sex game’, ‘stinging hexes: the right kind of pain for your pleasure?’. The minutes ticked by and Tonks began to worry that their intel was incorrect and there wasn’t going to be a drop this morning. It would be most disappointing for this information to be a bust. She would only have succeeded in making a fool or herself for the umpteenth time and nothing to show for it.

They only had to wait a little while longer before the door chimed again and another customer entered and approached the counter. 

This customer was a woman, middle-aged, with pale skin and mousy hair. She looked as though she cared about her appearance but it was clear that she was living in poverty.

“Morning to you.” The store owner greeted the woman.

“Morning. I- I was wondering about the-“ she glanced around nervously. “I heard you were helping connect people to the organization.”

“Right you are, madam. If its betterment for your life you’re looking for, I can connect you to the organization.”

“Yes, please.” The woman was soft-spoken, and Tonks found it hard to believe that this woman was really looking to join a pure-blood supremacy group.

“Very well, a wise choice. I’ll arrange an orientation meeting for tomorrow night, are you agreeable?” The store owner asked.

“Yes. Just tell me a time and a place, I will be there.”

And so will we, Tonks thought to herself. She strained to hear what the shop owner said next.

“Jacoby Pier, 8 pm sharp tomorrow.” The store owner told the woman.

“Thank you. Thank you.”

“You’re most welcome. The days of scrounging for knuts while less worthy people get fat off of riches they don’t deserve will soon be over, with the help of our leader.”  
The woman thanked him again and then left.

Tonks and Remus stayed where they were, pretending to examine the page on ‘poultices for potent erections’, for a few more minutes. When she deemed that enough time had past, Tonks took the book from Remus’ hand and walked over the register with it. 

“I’ll have this, thanks.” She told the store owner, affecting a tone of indifference.

“Took you long enough to decide.” The store owner grouched.

“What can I say? Hard to find something I haven’t already tried.” She said seductively. “With your selection, I bet you know all about…variety.”

The store owner warmed to this blatant flirtation. “Too right. I could show you a thing or two.”

Remus stepped up behind her, resting a hand low and possessive on her hip. “Three’s a crowd.” He stated firmly.

The store owner glared at him as he finished ringing her up and passing her the bag. “Well. Enjoy.” He turned his lecherous stare back to Tonks as she and Remus turned and left the store. Tonks was only too aware of the heat of Remus’ hand and how he did not remove it from her hip until they were out of sight of the shop.

“Can I buy you a coffee?” Remus asked, rather suddenly.

“Oh. Yeah. If you’re getting one.” Tonks agreed.

They strolled along the street until they reached the stairs back up to Diagon Alley. Once there, Remus lead her, not to Bone Hilda’s Bold Beans, the coffee shop Tonks was used to frequenting, but to Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour. 

Remus must have seen the confusion on her face because he said, “Come on, you’ll see.”

They entered the shop and approached the counter. Mr. Fortescue was working the register and he smiled warmly when he saw them approach. “Remus! And Miss Tonks! Two of my favourite customers. What can I get you two?”

Fortescue always told everyone they were his favourite customer, but somehow it felt genuine every time.

“Good morning Florian. Can we have two Chocolate Raspberry Cappuccinos, please?”

“Coming right up!”

Remus turned to Tonks. “Trust me, this is amazing.”

“Alright, you better hope it delivers. I’m quite serious about my coffee, you know.” Tonks teased.

“I’ve noticed.” Remus replied.

Mr. Fortescue returned with their coffees and Remus refused Tonks’ offer to pay for her coffee. They said their farewells and took their coffees outside to stroll along the street as they drank. Remus was right, the coffee was amazing. Dessert and drink all in one. 

Tonks was surprised to find that, once she stopped worrying about making a fool of herself around him, she actually enjoyed spending time in Remus’ company. He was funny, and quite a good storyteller. She found him great fun when she was spending time with him and Sirius together, but was always far too nervous and awkward around him to enjoy spending time with him without her cousin there as a buffer.

When they had finished their coffees and disposed of their cups, they made their way to the nearest apparition point and returned to Grimmauld Place to update Sirius on what they had discovered.

Sirius was in the library when the arrived, looking over a very detailed map of the ministry. 

“Hey. We’re back. What are you looking at there?” Remus asked as he sat down in a chair at the table Sirius was sitting at. 

“Maps of the ministry. Mad-Eye got them for me. Trying to find one that might outline what the inside of the department of mysteries looks like.” Sirius told them. “Just give me a minute.”

Tonks joined the two men at the table, and she and Remus waited until Sirius finished his inspection of the map in front of him.

“Right, that was useless.” He said, stretching his arms over his head and rolling his shoulders before he turned his attention to them. “What did you two find out?”

“There’s a meeting going down tomorrow, at Jacoby Pier at 8 pm.” Remus told Sirius, leading with the important details. “An ‘orientation session’ he called it.”

Sirius jotted this down on a piece of parchment. “We’ll need you both there. This could be very useful intel.” Sirius mused. “Were you able to get anything else?”

“They’re clearly targeting the fringes of society. The impoverished, the outcasts. Their promising a way out of miserable circumstances. It’s a tempting narrative they’re spinning. They aren’t advertising hate, only salvation.” Remus summarized.

“Right. We should put together a list of groups who they may target, see if we can spread the truth to them before the Death Eaters come knocking.” Sirius said, making a note for himself on the parchment.

This is how the trio spent the next three-quarters of an hour, creating a list of anyone in magical society who might feel let down or left out by the current system of power. It was a dishearteningly long list. The went over the list again when they felt that it was complete, to check for who would be the most desirable targets to the Death Eaters and how the members of the different sectors, who were not all unified groups. Some would be easier to reach than others as well and might be targeted first. Werewolves and giants, for example, existed in large packs, with outliers of course. These such groups meant the Death Eaters could reach larger numbers all at once. Remus, Sirius, and Tonks began making notes on the narrative-slash-counter-narrative they wanted to tell to try to prevent the Death Eaters from swaying these people and creatures.

When they eventually exhausted all avenues of looking at the information, they turned to their developing mutual past time of fire whiskey and card games.

Tonks found herself feeling quite comfortable in the company of the two men, and, surprisingly, it was not strange at all to spend her evening with them and then for them all to bid one another goodnight as they headed to their separate bedrooms in the house. She spent very little time feeling awkward, and, in fact, their company helped to keep her mind off of her still-raw emotions surrounding Alec’s betrayal.

The nerves only really started to flutter again as she and Remus were putting their shoes on to head to the rendezvous point the next evening.

“See you later, lovebirds!” Sirius called after them in a sing song voice.

Remus and Tonks simultaneously flipped him the bird as they stepped out of the door, which only made Sirius laugh.

As the stomach-churning spin of apparition wore off, Remus and Tonks found themselves at Jacoby Pier. It was a relatively normal looking location, considering it was being used as a recruitment spot for a blood-supremacy organization. There were very few people milling around, but enough that Remus and Tonks’ presence would not be too noticeable. Tonks wandered over to the nearest part of the railing and leaned against it, pretending to survey the water when she was really casing the location and noting the people present.

Tonks had to stop herself from startling suddenly when Remus came up beside her and slid his arm around her waist, his hand coming to rest on her opposite hip. It was relatively innocent, but Tonks knew her cheeks must have flushed pink. She could feel the heat of his hand against her hip and the soft fabric of his jumper. 

She wasn’t sure if it was the fact that it was Remus and that she had never really seen him touch anyone purposefully let alone her, or the fact that Alec was not one for PDA or casual contact like this but having Remus’ arm around her felt strangely intimate. It was not wholly uncomfortable either.

“So, am I ever going to hear the story of the infamous 20th birthday party?” Tonks asked him teasingly.

Remus shot her a disapproving look that was somewhat ruined by the smile he was trying to contain. “uh, that would be a no.”

“Oh come on, lover, don’t hold out on me.”  
“No, no, I really couldn’t say.” Remus shook his head emphatically.

“Come on, please!”

“It’s absolutely out of the question, Nymphadora.”

“Oh, pulling out the big guns! Use of my first name will not deter me. Now I really need to hear this story.”

“No, it’s just embarrassing. I won’t say. And our mutual friend is under a strict vow of secrecy unless he wants to receive very painful and humiliating repercussions.”

“Oh, embarrassing is it? I was hoping for a sexy story.”

Remus laughed, a deep rumble in his chest that she rarely heard from the normally quiet and reserved former professor.

“Not a word usually associated with any situation I’m in.”

“False modesty, I’m sure. You’ve got that tortured academic vibe to you, very sexy.”

Remus raised an eyebrow and looked at her incredulously.

“To some people, I think.” Tonks amended. “It’s not my thing.” She said. “I mean, not that I think you are unattractive, just-“ she floundered for the way to pull her foot back out of her mouth.

Thankfully, her salvation came in the form of their target, the woman from the store, arriving at the pier. Tonks spotted her a ways off, looking around warily as she headed towards the end of the pier.

“I see what we’re looking for.” She told Remus quietly, as she could see the woman over Remus’ shoulder and he would have to turn to spot her.

“Let’s go to the end of the pier, the view is better there.” Remus suggested conversationally.

The pair walked casually, arm in arm, looking to all like a couple on a romantic outing. They stayed on the opposite side of the boardwalk from their target and made a point of looking out on the water as they went to avoid being picked up as a tail. 

The woman they were tailing was clearly nervous. She was looking around for someone as she went. As she neared the end of the board walk, a man with a fishing rod in his hand, who hadn’t cast a line the whole time Tonks and Remus had been there, said something to her over his shoulder. The target stopped and stood next to him.  
“We need to get closer.” Remus said, straining to hear what was being said.

“Look, love, there’s a free bench.” Tonks said, leading Remus to an unoccupied bench near to the two targets.

Tonks and Remus settled down on the bench. Remus put his arm around her again and she cuddled into his side, resting her head on his shoulder. 

“You’re late.” The grating voice of the male target drifted over to them.

“I know, I’m sorry, I just…”

“You can’t be wishy-washy with us. We need to know you’re truly in this.” The man retorted, no patience for the woman’s dilemma.

“Please, Mr. Beaumont, it’s just a lot to think about.” The woman responded.

“I understand. Think about how much your life will improve if you commit to this, to us.” The man responded, suddenly sickly sweet as he spun his web of false promises around her. “We just need to know you’re with us, one hundred percent.”

“I am, please, I am.” The woman replied.

“Then all we are asking of you is that you prove it.”

“How?”

“You told my colleague that there was someone at work. A woman less deserving than yourself, who stole the promotion that was rightfully yours. A muggle-born woman.”

“Yes, that’s right. I’ve been in my job twenty years, and they passed me over for someone from outside the company. Twenty years I’ve worked in the same position, for the exact same salary, when outside the cost of living has only continued to increase. Its barely a liveable wage.” The woman said, anger and bitterness pushing out some of the anxiety in her voice. “If I don’t pay rent this month I’ll be evicted, and I haven’t got the money. I barely have the money to feed myself. I’ll be out on the streets in a week and I’ve nowhere else to go.”

“Just give us her name and we will be able to make all your problems…disappear.” The man said.

“How?”

“Don’t worry about it. We’re here to help.” The man said soothingly.

“Melinda. Melinda Hackerty.”

“Very good. Here is an address, it’s a…clubhouse of sorts. Our members like to gather there on occasion. It’s not exclusive though, so do show discretion if you visit.” The man handed her a small slip of paper. “Good day to you, Miss Rouche.”

“Thank you.” The woman breathed out.

The man walked swiftly away, but the woman stayed rooted to the spot for several long moments, looking at the card she clutched in her fingers, before she too walked away.

“I didn’t see what the card said.” Tonks whispered urgently.

“I did.” He replied. 

Without needing to discuss it, neither of them rose to leave right away. They stayed seated so as not to alert anyone that they had been there purely to hear that conversation. 

As there was no one nearby to overhear them, Tonks gave voice to her surprise at the situation.

“She seems…I don’t know, but she’s not what I would expect from a blood supremacy supporter.” Tonks confessed to Remus.

“I doubt she is. She’s just desperate. She’s looking for a way out, a way to save herself, and their capitalizing on that.” Remus responded.

“I don’t get that. How can she not realize the price of what their offering her?” Tonks questioned.

“When you’re at the end of your rope like that, no support, out of options… a way out of your situation seems like a blessing. It is very easy not to look too deeply into it.”

“I don’t understand that.”

“I do.” Remus stated gravely.

Tonks looked sideways at him. His jaw was set in a tense line and he was staring off at the water as though he was seeing something else. Tonks felt sorry, suddenly, as she realized who she was speaking to. Of course, Remus would understand poverty and prejudice. He was a social pariah due to his condition. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“

“No, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to get defensive with you. I just think, this woman isn’t a lost cause just because she’s looking for a way out of a difficult situation.” Remus replied. “I mean, she’s turning to a terrible option, and I have no sympathy for the cause or what they are doing. I just.. I sympathize with her situation.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry.”

“Let’s head home, it is getting quite chilly.” Remus said, rising from the bench. 

She did the same and the pair walked back down the board walk and over to the apparition point. 

When they arrived back at Grimmauld Place they looked around for Sirius, keen to update him on their findings. However, when they found him he was slumped over asleep in an arm chair in the library.

Tonks watched the way Remus’ features softened when he saw his friend sleeping. “Let’s let him sleep. We can update him in the morning.” Remus whispered softly. 

Tonks nodded her agreement. She turned to leave, but Remus did not leave right away. As she made her way to the door she saw out of the corner of her eye that Remus pulled a throw blanket from a nearby sofa and placed it over his sleeping friend.

Tonks smiled to herself as she made her way up to bed. Remus really was a very caring person.


	5. Problems, Pints, Passion?

Information on the so-called ‘clubhouse’ location was an exciting breakthrough. Other Order members were assigned to locate the targeted Melinda Hackerty, and it was decided that Remus and Tonks would go to the ‘clubhouse’ location. Remus’ keen eyesight meant that they knew the location of the meeting place, which turned out to be a run-of-the-mill bar that Tonks actually knew of as it was popular among lower-level ministry employees. However, the weekend was drawing to a close, and it was decided that Remus and Tonks would go to the bar on Friday evening, rather than go on a Monday or Tuesday when the bar was unlikely to be busy and it would be harder to blend into the crowd.

This meant that they had five whole days to wait before the next mission. Tonks had been enjoying the busy mission schedule as it kept her mind off of her suspension and her break-up. Without that distraction, Tonks found herself spiralling on her first full day with nothing to do at Grimmauld. She couldn’t help but be terrified of what would happen if she did lose her job. What else would she do? She had always dreamed of being an auror. She had no back-up plan, no second or third choices like some of her friends had, it was auror or nothing. She had never considered the nothing though, part of her had always felt sure that things would work out in her favour. Now she wasn’t so sure. 

Not only was her job in jeopardy, but her relationship too. She really cared about Alec, she enjoyed being in a relationship with him, but his decision to split because she was being investigated was causing her to rethink their entire relationship and to question everything, she thought she knew. What kind of man asked his girlfriend to take a break while she was lying in a hospital bed? He could be a little self-centred sometimes, but that was completely thoughtless.

She moped around in bed for far too long that first day, just unable to convince herself to get up. It was Sirius who forced her to get up for the day, knocking incessantly on her door with different ideas and requests until she gave in.

“Tonks do you want breakfast?”

“No.”

“Will you come make me breakfast anyways?”

“No.”

“Tonks want to come see a magic trick?”

“Sirius, you’re a wizard.”

“Yes, and muggle magic tricks are still rad.”

“No. and neither is saying ‘rad’.”

“Tonks, want to listen to quidditch on the wireless?”

“No.”

“Tonks, want to help me investigate the locked room at the end of the hall?”

“No.”

“Oookay, well, I’m going in. Alone. If you hear screaming, just know I’ve left you, Remus, and Harry everything in my will.”

Tonks groaned. This was the last straw. “Fine! Wait for me.”

He whooped with joy. 

“Just wait for me to get dressed, you dork.” She told him as she dragged herself out of bed and set about getting somewhat presentable for the day.

Tonks joined Sirius in the hallway a few minutes later. 

“You doing okay?” he asked, with unexpected tenderness.

“Yeah, just in a funk.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling.” Sirius told her somberly. 

Tonks felt intensely guilty in that moment, that she was so wrapped up in her personal trials that she hadn’t been thinking about the magnitude of her cousin’s own personal tragedies.

“Now, don’t you go feeling sorry for me. I didn’t say that to minimize what you’re going through. I just mean that I understand.” Sirius told her.

Tonks nodded to show her understanding. 

“hang on, this is your house. You know what’s behind the locked door.” Tonks accused.

“Ah, yes, I do. Sorry, little trick, but being holed up in your room isn’t good for you. I needed to convince you to come out, and who can resist investigating a mysterious sealed room?”

“Hmph. I’ll let it slide. Just this once, mind you. Trick me again and you are hippogriff food.” She grumbled. 

They reached the locked door at the end of the hallway. “So, don’t hold out on me, what’s in here?”

Sirius just grinned wickedly at her and pulled the key out of his pocket. He carefully, slowly, unlocked the door, clearly trying to build up the anticipation.

Tonks peered around him as he pulled the door open to reveal….

A bathroom.

The only satisfying thing was the yelp Sirius let out when she walloped him.

“You berk!” she said. “A bathroom! It’s not even slightly interesting! I mean, why is it locked?”

“Ah, a mystery. See, it is interesting!”

“You locked it, didn’t you?”

“I did. It’s a tried-and-true fallback for coaxing people out of their rooms. Had this one ready for Harry this summer, or maybe Remus, but neither of them needed it.” Sirius told her, as though this was completely normal.

“Speaking of Remus, where is he today?” Tonks asked.

“Missing him already?” Sirius teased, which earned him another whack. “Ouch! Touchy. He’s job-hunting.” Sirius said with the measured levity that told Tonks it was not something she should talk about.

“Right. Well, since we’re here, we may as well clean this room out.” Tonks said, moving the conversation away from the touchy subjects. 

Together they emptied the contents of the cupboards into garbage bags. Tonks was reaching to the very back of cupboard under the sink when she came across something very out of place.

“I can’t imagine Auntie Walburga ever wearing this.” Tonks said, holding up the pink shower cap in amusement. 

“No, she wasn’t one for bright colours.” Sirius said. “She was persnickety enough to worry about getting her hair wet though.”

“Did you get your elaborate hair-care routine from her, then?” Tonks asked.

“Mmm. The one thing we did together. I think it was the only time we got along. Every so often, when she was in a good mood and we hadn’t been fighting lately, we would spend a Sunday morning together having a hair spa day. I think she really wished she’d had a daughter, but since I didn’t mind long hair it was the next best thing.” Sirius stared off into the distance, lost in his memories for several moments.

“It’s nice you can find something to look back on.” Tonks said.

“I was almost never happy in this house.” Sirius responded. “I’m not sure those Sunday mornings could make up for the bad times.”

“I’m sorry.” Tonks told him, for lack of something better to say.

“It’s all in the past now. No point dwelling on it.” Sirius said resolutely.

“Good for you.” She told him. “Besides, maybe it was your dad’s.”

Sirius groaned in horror at the thought, but it brought a smile to his lips which made her feel good.

With full garbage bags sitting outside the door, Tonks and Sirius donned rubber gloves and began dousing the tile in cleaning liquids. Each armed with a scrub brush, they scoured the tile and grout until it shone. Tonks lost a battle of cauldron, parchment, wands and so she moved on to the toilet next while Sirius used wood polish on the sink vanity. 

It took them the rest of the morning and a little into the afternoon, but when they stopped the room just about sparkled. Tonks stood for several long moments just breathing in that wonderful fresh scent of a deep-cleaned bathroom. She hadn’t understood Sirius’ insistence that they clean the house the muggle way, it was just so much more effort, but she understood now that it gave you a feeling of pride to know that you put your blood, sweat, and tears into making a room shine. Literally, in Tonks’ case, as she had gotten a splinter so deep in her hand that it had made her bleed. And she may have cried a little bit when Sirius pulled it out. But she’d never admit to it and Sirius knew better than to tell anyone.

Now that the room was finished, they went downstairs for lunch and Tonks coaxed Sirius into regaling her with stories from his Hogwarts days, a much happier topic of conversation than the house or Tonks’ troubles. Sirius was a lively storyteller and he always put his whole self into the stories he told. He used voices and hand gestures or even whole-body movements if he felt the occasion warranted it. Tonks loved listening to him tell stories.

“What are you smiling at?” Sirius asked in a lull between his stories.

“Just remembering how you used to tell the best bedtime stories.” Tonks told him fondly. “We didn’t get to see a lot of you when I was little, you were too busy off at Hogwarts, but I remember that you told the greatest stories. You were, what, sixteen, seventeen? You would breeze in, tell me these fantastic, dramatic bedtime stories, and then I wouldn’t see you for ages.” 

“I remember. I wish I’d stopped by more; Andromeda is probably the person who most understood what I was going through after mum and dad disowned me, but it was just too hard to associate with anyone in the family then, black-sheep or not.” Sirius recalled. “You were a little shit though, you never laid still.”

“I was a perfect angel.” Tonks said primly, knowing that statement to be entirely false.

“Ha!” Sirius retorted. “In that case, so was I!”

Their easy banter continued throughout the afternoon. Tonks was immensely grateful to her older cousin for dragging her out of the dark cloud that she had been wallowing in this morning.

When Remus returned late that afternoon looking bone-tired and dejected they dragged him upstairs to show him their handiwork. It did seem to be a magic cure-all as he stood a little straighter and smiled more easily after he had heaped praise on them for their glorious efforts. Or at least, that’s how Tonks saw it.

Tonks found that the week at Grimmauld Place with Sirius and Remus did not drag as much as she thought it might. The company did not completely erase her sadness over her relationship status, or her fears for her career, but it did help. They developed a companionable routine, sharing chores, spending time together and on their own, it wasn’t awkward at all. 

Friday inevitably arrived though, and Tonks was pleased to jump back into mission work.

Tonks and Remus arrived at the bar around six on Friday evening. Tonks found them a table with a strategic view of all points of the bar while Remus went to start a tab with the bartender. While she waited for him, she took inventory of the patrons of the bar, cataloguing who was there to see if they might be able to work out who was part of the ‘club’ and who was there for innocent purposes. Remus returned with two pints and settled onto the stool across from her. She noticed his eyes wandering about the bar as he took a long, slow sip from his pint and she realized he was doing the same thing she had just been doing, cataloguing the patrons.

They seemed to both have come to the conclusion that there was no action occurring yet, so they fell into easy conversation while they waited.

“Have you been here before?” Remus asked her.

“No, actually. It’s quite close to the ministry so it’s quite popular among ministry employees,” she tried to get the message across to him that this was significant, as there were a variety of ministry employees present tonight, “but I much prefer the Silver Sickle on the other side of the ministry from here. Much better ladies’ nights.” She told him with a wink.

“I know the place. I- uh, I know the ladies’ nights, or knew them back when I was fresh out of Hogwarts, at least. It’s been a while.” Remus told her.

“See, I knew it. Under that good boy exterior, I knew you had to be some kind of sex fiend. It’s always the quiet ones.” She had timed this comment for when Remus took a big sip of his pint and was quite gratified by the next 30 seconds he spent coughing and spluttering.

“I- I am not- I mean- I never-“he spluttered, before he caught her shit-eating grin and frowned disapprovingly at her.

“See, you won’t be able to convince me otherwise now. Frequenting ladies’ nights at the Silver Sickle, a wild sex dungeon party for your 20th…” She goaded him.

“It wasn’t a wild sex dungeon party, and it most certainly wasn’t my idea.” He replied.

“You would say that.”

“I mean it. It was an absolutely terrible party idea that our mutual friend came up with. A gift more for himself than me.” Remus told her.

Tonks just fixed him with a look. She was going to make him crack and tell her the story, she was determined.

Remus sighed. “Okay, look. It was my 20th birthday and Sirius had a surprise planned. We showed up at the club, a regular nightclub. We were on our second or third round of drinks when-“Remus looked around furtively so Tonks leaned in close to allow him a more secretive conversation. “When we noticed the servers had disappeared. They had all disappeared into the back. Then the lights dimmed, and the music changed. The servers came out from the back, after, er- a wardrobe change- if you can call taking off most of your clothes a wardrobe change “  
Tonks couldn’t contain a grin at this. She could picture the proper professor’s shock and dismay at realizing it was not a regular club. 

“They were wearing, well, very little at all. Really, they were just in their underwear. Our server came back to our table and started talking about my ‘special order’. See, Sirius had told her it was my birthday, so she’d brought me a ‘special menu’ reserved for people celebrating birthdays and what not, and I’d ordered something off it. I don’t even remember what, I hadn’t even wanted it, I’d only ordered it to be polite, and now it was coming back to haunt me. Apparently, the ‘special menu’ was all coded items, not for food and drinks like I had been led to believe, but for er- sexual favours.”

He leaned even closer as he said the last bit. Tonks had to put her hand to her mouth to keep from laughing. A man who was so nervous to even whisper ‘sexual favours’ was not a man ordering them off a menu at a sex club. She didn’t know what her cousin had been thinking.

“What did you order?” she asked, trying to keep the laughter from her voice.

“Oh, merlin, you don’t even want to know.” He said, shaking his head.

“I do!”

“No, I couldn’t possibly say.” He said, but a smile was tugging at the corners of his lips and Tonks was pretty sure she could get him to 

“Yes, you could, I’m asking you to” she pleaded, putting her hands on his forearm that he had rested on the table, giving him her best puppy dog eyes.

“No, I-“

But whatever objection he was going to give next, she would never know. She heard an all too familiar voice and looked up to see none other than Alec approaching the table.

“Hello, Tonks.” He greeted her, and Tonks saw him taking in the scene before him and appraising Remus before he said, “Who’s your friend?”

Tonks realized how it must look, the two of them leaning in close to one another, smiling together, her hands on his arm. She noticed for the first time how patched his jumper was, how the lighting in the bar highlighted how much gray there was in his sandy hair. She felt her face heat with embarrassment before she remembered that that is exactly how they should look. Her and Remus were pretending to be a couple, after all. 

“Alec.” She said and she saw Remus’ posture change. “This is Remus.”

“Well, going for quick over quality with your rebound, I see.” Alec said cruelly.

“You wouldn’t know anything about quality, Alec.” Tonks told him. “I’ve got nothing to say to you, so keep on walking.”

“I dodged a bullet if this is the kind of riffraff you want to associate with” Alec said, gesturing again at Remus, who was still as a statue, his eyes on the table.

“I’m the one who dodged a bullet, Alec. I can’t believe I never realized what a shallow, spineless, narcissist you are.” Tonks spat.

“spineless?” Tonks thought it was very telling that that was the part he objected to. “Listen here, you bitch-“

Remus who, up to this point, had been silent, stood suddenly. Alec was tall, but Remus was taller by at least two inches. “I believe she told you to keep walking.”

Alec tried to act like he wasn’t intimidated. “No one asked you, grandpa.” He turned and stalked off anyways.

Remus sat and they both took hearty gulps of their drinks.

“I’m sorry-“ they said in unison, before they both stopped.

“I’m sorry he said those things. He’s an ass. I can’t believe it took so long to realize it.” Tonks apologized.

“You don’t need to be sorry. I’m used to it. He’s snake who is showing his true colours now, you shouldn’t be sorry that he deceived you.” Remus told her.

“Wait, why are you sorry?” Tonks asked him.

“I’m sorry that happened. I’m sorry I interfered, I know you can handle it and that you don’t like other people trying to fight your battles for you.” Tonks was surprised that he knew her so well. “But I needed him to leave without making a scene.” Remus leaned in slightly before he continued in a voice just above a whisper. “Lucius Malfoy just walked in and sat down somewhere behind me.”

Tonks had been so distracted by Alec that she hadn’t noticed. Remus was right, Lucius Malfoy was sitting in a booth at the back, just visible over Remus’ right shoulder. He wasn’t alone, either, he was sitting with a woman whose name Tonks didn’t know, but she did know the woman worked for the prophet. Tonks told Remus this. 

“Could be nothing, but let’s keep an eye on who he speaks to tonight.” Remus said.

Tonks nodded. They already knew that strategically placed death eaters like Malfoy were controlling the narrative inside the Ministry and the Media. Malfoy talking to the prophet would give them no more information than perhaps what their next breaking news lie would be.

Whatever they were talking about, they talked for a long time. Long enough for both Tonks and Remus to finish their pints and Remus to go order them another one. Tonks thought that maybe he was as bored with this surveillance as she was becoming as he was at the bar for a long while. Tonks realized he was engaged in conversation with a woman sitting at the end of the bar. She felt resentful that he had disappeared to flirt in the middle of a Order mission before she realized that resentment lingered a little closer to jealousy and she squashed it quickly. She had absolutely no interest in who Remus flirted with. 

Eventually, Remus wandered back to the table and set a pint down in front of her.

“So, what was her name?” she asked nonchalantly.

Remus looked at her strangely. “Who?”

“Don’t be thick. The bird you were just chatting up at the bar.”

“Her name’s Winnie.” He continued to look at her like she’d grown a second head. “I needed a reason to hang out at the end of the bar so I could hear what those two were talking about.” He explained.

Tonks felt quite stupid. Of course, Remus was a proper professional, he wouldn’t be chatting up women in bars.

“Oh. Right. Good thinking. What did you hear?” she asked.

“Clubs for adults just seem strange to me. Even the ones that claim to be for a positive cause just seem to be a little anti-governmental or something.” Remus told her.

Tonks was about to ask him if he’d had a stroke or something when her logical brain kicked in and she realized his coded message. If she was decoding him correctly, Malfoy and the reporter were concocting a story to paint the Order, and those that supported their cause and beliefs, as anti-governmental anarchists. Along with the attacks against Harry Potter and Dumbledore’s credibility, this could seriously undermine recruitment. Their numbers were even smaller than the Order of the first war, so this could be a serious issue.

“I hear you, but I just don’t think it’s an issue or anything.” She shrugged noncommittally, so their conversation topic could shift but he would know she had understood him. Movement caught her eye, and she watched as a senior representative from the Ministry’s legal offices took a seat at the booth with Malfoy and the Prophet reporter. “Oh look, there’s my friend from legal. Do you think I should go say hello?” Tonks said.

“No, we shouldn’t interrupt their dinner. Maybe if they leave before us, we can try to connect.” Remus said.

“I suppose you’re right.” Tonks nodded in agreement.

If there was one thing that they learned that night, it was that Malfoy could certainly talk. And talk. And talk. He talked for so long Tonks was worried Remus was going to fall asleep at the table, he looked so tired. She wondered when the next full moon was but didn’t know how to ask.

Eventually, to Tonks’ immense relief, Malfoy and his two companions rose and left the bar together. Tonks and Remus waited before placing some sickles on the table and leaving. They surreptitiously glanced around and then turned left down the street where Malfoy and his compatriots were walking. They followed at a safe distance, only able to hear snippets of conversation, all schmoozing it seemed and nothing really actionable. There was a strong possibility they were headed to a securer location to discuss details. The pair were so busy listening out for coded messages in the targets’ conversation that they almost didn’t notice the trap they were being walked into. Tonks realized, as the took their third left, that they must have been made, and they were walking in a complete circle around the block. A textbook method of outing a tail. 

As Tonks realized this, several things happened in quick succession. First, Remus stiffened beside her, apparently in realization of their situation. Second, Malfoy said something urgently to his two companions. Third, Malfoy and his two companions began to turn towards them. Lastly, before Tonks even had a moment to think of an exit strategy, she was being pushed roughly into the nearby alley. 

It took her a moment to recover and realize what had just happened, so sudden was the shift. Remus had moved, fast as lightening, to push her into the adjacent alley and had her pressed up against the wall. She could feel the pounding of his heart through his patched jumper where it was pressed against her shoulder. He was warm and solid and smelled of beer and earl gray tea.

“What are you doing?” she hissed.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. We need not to be discovered.” He whispered.

Then, without any further hesitation or discussion, his lips were on hers. She pushed aside her reservations as she knew how important it was for this to look real. She kissed him firmly, their lips sliding together. She ran her hand up from his shoulder, through the downy hair at the base of his neck, to tangle in his hair. She thought he might have made a noise in his throat at that, but she couldn’t tell from the frantic beating of her heart. Remus’ hands stayed firmly on her hips, but his thumbs caressed gentle circles along her hip bones in a way that was sending warmth through her completely unrelated to fear or adrenaline.

Without even thinking about it, she flicked her tongue out to tease at his lower lip, and he readily opened his mouth to admit her. Their tongues slid together for the first time and Tonks knew she was not mistaken about the appreciative noise he made when that happened. Tonks could hear footsteps, as presumably Malfoy and his companions drew close, so she hooked her leg around Remus’ waist, pulling their hips flush together. Remus slid one hand up her side, tracing the shape of her, before tangling it in her hair.  
Tonks was only vaguely aware of the sound of muttered disapproval as Malfoy, the woman from the prophet, and the man from the legal offices, passed by again. Tonks and Remus continued their heated kiss but Tonks could tell the passion from a moment ago had disappeared as they waited on baited breath to see if the trio would leave.

Finally, the footsteps retreated. Tonks and Remus remained intertwined against the wall there until several minutes had passed, to be sure the targets were not waiting for them to emerge from the alley. 

“I’m so sorry Tonks. I would never- I just- I needed us to be in this alley for a reason Malfoy wouldn’t want to investigate.” Remus explained.

“I understand. It was quick thinking. Quicker than mine, certainly. No harm done.” Tonks assured him.

They returned to headquarters and filled Sirius in on the latest information, leaving out their snog in the alley, before the bid each other goodnight and turned in for the night. 

As Tonks lay in bed that night her mind was swarmed with thoughts of the kiss, of Alec at the bar, the kiss, talking and laughing with Remus, the kiss. He had been so sure in his movements, so attentive. She thought of his thumbs making patterns on her hip bones. What else did he do with his hands? She shook herself from this thought track. Merlin help her, a little while out of a relationship and she was lusting after the mild-mannered professor because of a kiss.


	6. A cup of kindness yet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> True to form, I haven't even given this a once-over so its probably littered with errors. I'll probably come back and edit it but its taken me so long to finish I wanted to get it up quickly so sorry for the inevitable errors and inconsistencies.

When Tonks signed on for this daring mission, she had not quite anticipated the down time they would have between intel gathering sessions. Several days had passed since Remus and Tonks had narrowly avoided being caught by Malfoy and his associates outside of the Silver Sickle bar. Tonks had worried that Remus would be awkward around her after their alleyway encounter, but instead he was pretending that it had never happened. That suited her just fine, she didn’t need one more awkward thing hanging between them.

They had been searching for connections between Malfoy, the woman from the Prophet, and the guy from Legal, trying to work out how they would have come into contact and what their individual agendas were. This might help shed light on their joint agenda and the overall plan. From what they had been able to overhear, the trio was concocting a cover-up story, but so far, they didn’t have any inkling as to what it was that they were trying to cover up. They could make guesses, but nothing more likely than the next idea. Malfoy may be slimy and cowardly, but he hadn’t escaped prosecution after the first war by being a bad liar. They needed more intel to figure this out.

Tonks returned to Grimmauld place late one evening, having spent the better part of the afternoon and evening catching up with some girlfriends. They were a mixture of friends from their Hogwarts days, work friends, and mutual friends of these friends that had melded together. They had gathered at one of their flats, Tiffany’s to be precise. Tiffany had been in Hufflepuff in Tonks’ year, but they didn’t become friends until after they left Hogwarts. Now that they were all adults, these gatherings had become less frequent, and perhaps as a consequence of this, the gatherings had started to become a little bit like a school reunion. A who’s who sort of get together where everyone tried to show off their accomplishments and how far they had come since their school days, thereby showing they hadn’t changed much at all. Tonks had been caught off guard when she became the focus of attention that afternoon though. 

She had just been sipping at her glass of wine she hadn’t been able to refuse, when Tiffany had turned to her with a twinkle in her eye and a self-satisfied little smirk. 

“So, Tonks. You’ve been holding out on us.” She said with glee.

Tiffany was amazing, a true friend who had stuck with Tonks through thick and thin as they both settled into their lives post-Hogwarts, but she was an absolutely incorrigible gossip. Usually, the gossip was absolutely ridiculous and entirely inaccurate, so Tonks rolled her eyes and prepared to laugh at whatever gossip Tiffany thought she had turned up. 

“No, I don’t think so.” Tonks said nonchalantly.

“Oh, yes you have. A little birdy told me you have moved on from that toadstool whose name I will not mention.” Tiffany said.

“I don’t know what you mean.” She played dumb.

“I mean, I heard that you have a new boyfriend.”

Tonks took a large gulp from her glass of wine. She wanted to deny it so she could avoid this conversation, but she knew that if a gossip like Tiffany was spouting out about Tonks’ affair with Remus it would help the cover.

“Oh. You heard about that?” She asked, trying to sound casual.

“Yes! You cow! How could you keep this from me?” Tiffany whined.

“Oh, its new. We- we wanted to keep things under wraps.” Tonks said, shrugging.

“I bet. He’s not really your usual type, is he?” Tiffany pointed out.

“Who is he? I need details.” Beth, Tiffany’s friend from the salon, asked.

“I don’t know, I hear he’s an older guy though, a former professor. A real bookworm type.” Tiffany gushed.

“I was asking Tonks.” Beth told her. “You know, the one who does know him.”

Tiffany blushed and waved her on.

“So, Tonks, tell us about your older man. Hot for teacher, huh?” Cindy, a fellow ‘puff from their year asked.

“Shut up!” Tonks replied, with a grin. “He’s great. My ‘usual type’, as you put it, hasn’t exactly been working out so well for me. Maybe its time for a change. And Remus is amazing, he really cares for me. He’s so sweet and gentle…” 

There was a teasing chorus of ‘awe’s at this. From everyone except Cindy, who looked concerned.

“Wait, wait. Old guy, ex-professor. Remus? Please, please tell me you are not dating Remus Lupin.” Cindy said, suddenly serious.

“Oh, you know him?” Tonks replied innocently. She downed her glass of wine and poured herself another, having a feeling that she was going to need it.

“Tonks! Remus Lupin! Really! Don’t you know why he was fired from Hogwarts?” Cindy asked, scandalized. 

“He wasn’t fired. He resigned.” Tonks replied, suddenly defensive.

“So that Dumbledore wouldn’t fire him!”

“Dumbledore wasn’t going to fire him. He chose to resign due to prejudiced hate messages from parents.”

“Which they sent after it was revealed that the man was a werewolf! Tonks. Really.”

“No!” Tiffany and Beth said in unison.

“Yes! Its true! He taught my cousin a couple years back. She told me everything about it. It was a terrible scandal.”

“How could Dumbledore allow that? A- A man like that working with children? Dumbledore allowed him to be alone with those children?”

“I don’t know what you’re implying but it is grossly untrue.” Tonks fumed. “Remus is a good man. He was an excellent teacher and he never endangered those students.”

“You can’t trust him, Tonks.” Beth urged. “Werewolves are dangerous. You can’t tell us you haven’t heard about the attacks on women, and children. You know what they do to them. They aren’t just interested in turning them.”

“Remus isn’t like that! Look, maybe- maybe there are some werewolves who are like that, but Remus would never. You can’t generalize about him based on a-a- medical condition!”

“Even if he is the exception to the rule, what could you possibly see in him? He’s so much older than you, and piss poor to top it off.” Cindy interjected.

“Look, you guys, don’t try and turn this into some kind of intervention. Remus is a good man, he treats me well. He makes me happy.” Tonks said, getting to her feet. “I’m sorry that you can’t look past your prejudices, I’m going to go now.”

“Wait, Tonks, don’t go. We’re just worried for you. We want to understand.” Tiffany pleaded.

“No, I’m going. It was good to see you all, but I need to go.”

With that, Tonks had gathered up her things and left. That was how she found herself angrily stomping through the door at Grimmauld and storming up to her room. She was so annoyed with her friends. She knew the prejudices that people held about werewolves, she had even thought some of them herself in the past, but to hear her friends spouting the vilest of thoughts was hard to hear. She couldn’t ever connect those beliefs with the kind and caring man who made her cups of tea when she was upset and went to extreme lengths to help out anyone in the Order if he could.

Tonks flopped down on her bed and tried to push the afternoon from her mind. The bubbling of the alcohol in her belly and her inner turmoil made that difficult though. She couldn’t talk to Remus about this though, obviously. She considered going to find Sirius but didn’t want to push this on him either. Plus, he’d been in a dark mood when she left earlier, and she didn’t fancy butting heads with him tonight.

Tonks decided she would take a bath. A nice warm bath with her favourite lavender candles would soothe her troubled mind. She stripped down and put on her bathrobe and grabbed her favourite bath supplies before making her way down the hallway to the communal bathroom there. The whole time she just couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that her friends held such close-minded views. She had known them for years and years, and all of a sudden this character flaw was rearing its head in all of them. What had changed? She had the sickening thought that it was most likely her. She was loath to admit it now, but there was a time when she had shared their views. Part of what was making her so upset was being faced with her own prejudices, past or not. 

Tonks was still pondering this uncomfortable truth when the opened the bathroom door and went to take a step inside. She was immediately enveloped in warm steam and she realized that if she hadn’t been so lost in thought she might have realized the light was on in the bathroom. As it was, she had simply barged in and now found herself staring owlishly at Remus Lupin sitting in the bath. 

They both looked at each other for a moment, equally mortified. 

“Oh, shit. Sorry!” Tonks said, unsure of whether she should shield her eyes or if that was childish and rude. He was, mercifully, covered up to his chest in bubbles. 

“Dora, don’t you knock?” he asked, avoiding her gaze.

“Sorry. I was thinking.”

“Well, go think somewhere else.” Remus replied curtly. He still had not looked at her.

“Sorry.” She said, distracted by the sight of a long, jagged scar that cut its way across his collarbone and down his chest until it was obscured by the water. She rarely glimpsed much of his skin, as prone to wearing multiple layers as he was, and now she could see why. The lines cutting across his body were hard to mistake for anything other than animal teeth and claws with their punctured holes and patterns of four. She knew the life of a werewolf was a brutal one, but somehow it still shocked her to see such clear evidence of it displayed across his chest and shoulders.

Remus chose this moment to turn his head to look at her. His expression told her immediately that he knew she had been looking at his scars. She was chastened by the expression on his face. He looked defeated, but also like he hadn’t expected anything less.

“Right, sorry.” She said backing up and shutting the door behind her. 

She hurried down the hallway back to her room, shutting her door firmly and throwing herself face down on her bed. Her cheeks burned even still with embarrassment. She replied the moment over and over in her mind: how she had barged into the bathroom, ogled his scars, and stood there for far, far too long before leaving. Absolutely mortifying.

Sometime later, while Tonks was still plotting moving to a deserted island and never being seen again, there was a knock at the door. She was terrified for a moment that it was Remus, and she was going to have to have an awkward conversation. However, when she cracked open the door a smidge, it was only Sirius on the other side.

“Hi, dinner is served, if you care to join me downstairs.” He said, gesturing down the hallway.

“Oh. I’m- I’m not actually hungry, Sirius. Sorry. I had a lot to eat this afternoon.” Tonks said lamely. She tried not to notice the way his face fell when she said this.

“Oh. Right. That’s fine then.” Sirius said, looking forlorn. “Dinner for one, then.” He said more to himself as he turned to leave.

“Remus isn’t eating?” She asked.

“No. He’s not feeling well. He’s taking a nap and I didn’t want to wake him.” Sirius explained.

“Oh.” Tonks thought for a moment. “What’s for dinner?”

“Homemade sweet potato ravioli with garlic bread.” Sirius had thrown himself into cooking lately, as a way to keep busy in the house. It was actually a really positive hobby, as it had gone a long way to mending the strained relationship that he had with Molly Weasley. The pair had found a bonding point over cooking, which helped them talk with cooler heads and lately, they were even finding even ground on conversations about Harry.

“Well, I can’t miss that.” Tonks said and Sirius beaned at her.

The pair headed down to the kitchen together. Tonks felt mildly optimistic that Sirius would not make a connection between her changing her mind about coming to dinner and her hearing that Remus wasn’t going to be there.

This hope lasted through Sirius setting up their plates and through her first few bites of the meal, which was delicious. 

“So, I invite you to dinner and you say no, you’re too full. Until you hear that Remus won’t be joining us, and then you suddenly have no issue. I wonder what changed?”

“I’m a sucker for ravioli.”

“No, really.”

“Really. I heard the menu and I couldn’t resist.”

“Alright. Keep your secrets. I’ll just go ask Remus.” Sirius began to rise from his seat, and she knew she would just have to give in.

“Okay! Okay! I accidently walked in on him in the bath earlier.” She admitted sullenly.

Sirius laughed so hard he choked on a mouthful of food, and Tonks took great pleasure in thumping him on the back.

“That’s brilliant!” he spluttered.

“It is not! Its awful.” She groaned. “Why do I always keep fucking up around him? I mean, I think I’m finally on solid ground, and then I do something to ruin it.”

“Relax! So you saw him in the buff. No big deal, right?”

“Wrong! It’s so embarrassing. I mean, I didn’t actually see…anything. He was covered up by the bubbles. But I froze! I just stood there ogling his scars. He was pissed. I’ve never heard him be so snappy at someone.”

“Tonks, its fine. He won’t hold it against you. He gets a bit snippy this close to the full moon is all.” Sirius said soothingly.

“Oh. When is the full moon, again?” Tonks asked, chastened that she had forgotten such an important piece of information. 

“Sunday. Moony’s PMS- pre-moon syndrome- tends to kick in around now, about three days before the moon.” Sirius explained.

“Oh. Shit, I’d forgotten about the moon.” She admitted.

“Don’t worry about it, Remus prefers it that way. He doesn’t want everyone counting down the hours with him.” Sirius waved off her concern. “He gets snippy when he’s embarrassed, and he gets snippy this close to the full moon so don’t worry about him being cross with you, he’ll be sorry he was cross later.”

Tonks hoped so. She didn’t want Remus to be angry with her, or to think she judged him for his scars. 

“Anyway, he’s also probably grumpy because Hagrid was by earlier, wanted to brief you both about another mission, but you were out. Remus is not pleased about this one.” Sirius told her.

“Oh, what’s the intel?” Tonks asked.

“There’s a bloke up in Thornevale, recently been arrested by the muggles for a series of disappearances in the area. He comes from a reclusive little commune in the nearby Eteron Woods, his people there swear up and down he was framed. It’s getting kind of noisy. See, what the muggles don’t know, is that little commune is a werewolf encampment. The bloke’s a werewolf, and he’s spouting some interesting claims about who framed him.”

“Right. Worth checking out. I don’t see how it’s a job for me and Remus though, what’s the connection?”

“That’s the thing. Hagrid has heard some intel that the guy’s friends back at the encampment are saying the ministry is framing him- no, don’t go rolling your eyes, I wasn’t born yesterday- they are talking proof.” Sirius passed her a ministry file.

“Where the hell did you get this?”

“Snuck into the Ministry for a little snoop earlier.”

She glowered at him.

“Don’t look at me like that, I had Kingsley drop it off a little while ago.”

“Right. Sorry.”

Tonks glanced at the file in her hand. Innocent of this crime or not, the guy had a long and violent rap sheet.

“Look, Sirius, are there innocent men in Azkaban? Yes, probably. Doesn’t mean this guy is one of them.” Tonks said.

“I know all about innocent men in Azkaban.” Sirius said darkly. “I also know about guilty men claiming innocence. This doesn’t feel like that to me.”

Tonks wasn’t convinced. This seemed like a pointless rabbit hole.

“Maybe its nothing. Maybe he is guilty and doesn’t know anything. Still, isn’t it worth checking out? The worst you can do is waste some time. You might be able to keep an innocent man out of Azkaban.” 

It was the haunted look in Sirius’ eyes when he mentioned Azkaban that made her fold. “You’re right. Its worth a look.”

“Not going to happen.” A hoarse voice spoke up from the doorway.

Remus shuffled into the kitchen to sit across from Tonks at the table. His mouth was set in a determined line, spoiling for a fight on this discussion apparently, but his eyes betrayed how tired he was.

“It’s too close to the full moon. You won’t be going anywhere near that place.” He said firmly.

“Who are you, my dad? You have no say.”

“I have every say. You cannot walk into a werewolf encampment three days before a full moon! Its suicide. This is a fool’s errand and it will only serve to put you in danger.” Tonks noted that Remus did not mention any danger to himself.

“I imagine I’ll be fine with a werewolf by my side.” She said. He flinched. 

“I can’t guarantee that.”

“I’m an auror Remus, I can take care of myself.”

“I don’t want you to take that risk.”

“I don’t see why it should matter to you.” She pointed out.

Remus scoffed and Sirius appeared to find her comment rather amusing, both responses only served to fuel her determination.

“I don’t see why you should dismiss me so easily. If you are with me, I’ll be fine. Not that I need you to protect me.”

“I doubt I will be any protection at all.” Remus told her darkly. “One werewolf is not as good as another, among werewolves. I live amongst wizarding society. Encampments like these, they have forgone wizarding society. It’s a drastic difference in ideology.”

“Ideology?”

“Or whatever term you think would best fit. Yes. Some werewolves try to maintain their human roots, to stay in wizarding society and reject the animal, so to speak. Others feel that wizarding society have rejected them and cast them out and they choose to embrace their new nature and to live apart. Neither faction gets along with the other.”

“We aren’t moving in, or going there for an ideological debate. We want to help.” Tonks reasoned.

“That won’t matter. You’re human, I’m a traitor to our kind. They won’t welcome us.” Remus told her.

“I’m pretty good at convincing people to talk.” Tonks replied.

“You don’t get it, werewolf encampments are- are vile places. Wretched, desolate places, devoid of civilization and joy. I haven’t been to one in years. I wish never to go back. I certainly won’t introduce you to one for a baseless tip.”

“You won’t be introducing me to one. I’ve been to werewolf encampments before.” Tonks informed him.

He looked taken aback. “Why?”

“I’m an auror, remember? I’ve been to two, on the job.” She explained.

“Oh. Right.” Remus said, the fight seeming to have run out.

“Look, I understand your reservations. I won’t claim to understand how difficult it is to go to a place like this, because I know I can never understand something like that. I want to investigate this, I agree with Sirius that we could be doing something of real use here, even beyond any real or fake intel. I think we should do this.”

Remus took several long moments to think, his expression torn, before he nodded. “Alright. We’ll go tomorrow. Right now, I’m going back to bed.”

The next day, Remus and Tonks set out for the encampment together late in the afternoon. Remus had explained that this was the best time to go, when they would be most receptive to visitors. 

This information appeared to hold true, as when Remus and Tonks stepped through the trees out into the field where the encampment was set up, the men scattered around merely stared warily at them, rather than moving straight to hostility. Remus and Tonks stepped further into the field, glancing around them to try and spot someone who looked receptive to speaking with them. The sun was already setting and it appeared none of the men had the energy to care too much about the newcomers.

The field itself was ordinary, it wouldn’t have been anything of note if it weren’t for the home-made tents and lean-tos scattered about, along with a fair bit of litter. There was an overwhelming scent of sweat and urine, as well as a slight whiff of coppery blood in the air. Tonks could spot old bandages, soaked with aged blood in some piles near where they stood. The men sitting about looked tired, aged beyond their years and weathered by hard lives. Their clothes were ill-fitting and poorly mended, their faces unshaven, and their eyes cold and hard.

Tonks could feel the tension rolling off of Remus as soon as they arrived. She wanted to comfort him, but she didn’t know how. 

“Can I help you?” A voice spoke up from Tonks’ left. 

Remus and Tonks turned to face the man who was now approaching them. He was an older guy, older than Remus, with sharp features and a deep voice. He looked like the sort of man who was built to carry a lot of weight and muscle on him, but who had lost it rather quickly. 

“Looking for friends of Hector.” Remus replied curtly.

“We’re all friends of Hector here. What’s your business with him?”

“Heard he had information to help his friend Tiago.” Remus replied.

“What’s it to you?”

“We’re interested in the information, and willing to help in exchange.” Remus replied evenly. Tonks noticed that most of those within earshot were watching them now, and more men were moving within earshot.

“What makes you think you can help?”

“We’ve got friends in the right places.”

“What kinds of friends would that be? Ministry scum?” Another voice spoke up. There was a rippling murmur of disapproval and anger at the mention of the Ministry.

“Does it matter? We’re offering a trade. Assistance for information.” Remus replied. 

“Hell yes it matters! We have no love for the Ministry here.”

“Nor do we. I’ll say no more though. Our business is with Hector, we’ll speak to no one else about it.” Remus told him firmly. “Are you Hector?”

The man appraised Remus thoughtfully. “No. Tomas.”

“Remus” the two men shook hands. Tonks could feel the tension sliding away as they appeared to have passed some sort of test.

“Hector is out hunting. He won’t be back until morning.” Thomas informed them. He looked curiously at Tonks but did not ask for her name. “You can wait here until he returns.”

Clearly Thomas held sway around here, Tonks thought, as she saw the men visible relax when he gave them his welcome, no matter how grudging. 

“Come, help us build the fire. It will be dark shortly.” Thomas said.

Building the fire was a team affair, it seemed, as most of the men took part in gathering firewood and building a large log fire in an open space at the back of the encampment, away from the tents. There were a variety of chairs, or rocks with rags tossed over them to imitate chairs, and gradually the men took seats around the fire as they had done their part.

Remus and Tonks took a seat together on a rock near the fire, with a good vantage point of the space around them. Though the other men paid them little mind, Tonks could feel the tension rolling off of Remus in how stiffly he was sitting. This time Tonks gave in to the desire to comfort him and hesitantly placed her hand on his back, between his shoulder blades, and began rubbing small soothing circles there when he did not shake her off.

“Who do you hail from, Remus?” One of the men seated nearest them asked.

“Er- I’m from Wales, originally.”

The men chuckled. 

“No, not where. Who. I mean, who turned you, do you know?” The man, a russet-skinned, olive-eyed man in his fifties or so, had a surprisingly gentle voice.

“That’s personal.”

“We’re all friends here.”

Remus shifted restlessly, but eventually answered. “Fenrir Greyback.”

There was a rumble of discontent among the group. Even here, or perhaps most especially here, the name of Greyback brought a dark cloud of fear and pain. Tonks suddenly felt as though she were bearing witness to something deeply personal, something Remus would not have wanted her to see.

“Ah, you’re a child soldier then?”

Remus nodded stiffly. “I was very young when I received the bite.” He confirmed.

“Me as well.” A man across the fire spoke up. His head appeared to be on fire, so orange was his hair. Tonks immediately thought of the Weasley clan. “I was twelve. Out too late at the skate park.”

“I was in my bed.” Remus shared. “He- He came in the window while I was sleeping.”

“Sorry to hear it.” An absolutely enormous wall of muscle masquerading as a man called down to them. “One thing to find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time after dark, another to be targeted the way he does.”

“Crazy bastard. No one can control a transformation like him.”

“Who would want to?”

“I would. Not for the kiddie-biting purposes obviously” the man who had spoken up this time jumped to assure them. “Just- to have more control over it would be nice. I’ve been trying, but I don’t think I’m making much progress.”

“Ianto, I’ve been trying close to forty years to better control it and haven’t achieved squat. Don’t waste your energy.”

The conversation continued in this manner well into the night, swapping stories of serious and of light-hearted topics. It was not actually how she thought a night in a werewolf encampment would go, if she were honest.

Eventually, Tonks found her eyelids drooping and her head drifting onto Remus’ shoulder one too many times. Remus nudged her awake and after some direction from Bryce, the giant wall of muscle, Tonks and Remus found a corner of the encampment to sleep in.

Tonks lay down readily, transfiguring her jacket into a pillow. Remus stayed sitting up.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?” Tonks asked him.

“Maybe later. I want to keep watch for a while first.” He told her.

“Suit yourself.” She said.

She lay there for a long while after that listening to crickets chirping and the sound of night settling around them. However, she couldn’t seem to fall asleep as she was bothered by the cold. Now that her jacket had turned into a pillow, she had nothing to protect her from the night’s chill.  
Remus seemed to take note of her shivering. “Are you cold?” he asked.

“Yeah. Just a little.”

“here, take my coat.” He moved to shrug off the aforementioned article.

“No, then you’ll be cold.” Tonks told him.

“I can’t just let you be cold.” Remus objected.

“Lay with me?” she asked.

“I couldn’t.” Remus responded immediately.

“Please? It’s cold. Just share some warmth with me, please.”

Remus still looked hesitant, but he shifted to lay down beside her. It was a little like cuddling up to a wall. Tonks rolled her eyes.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me.”

“I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did.”

“How would you know, its too dark to see and I’m not looking at you.”

“I just know. So don’t.”

“You’re a pill.” She told him. “And a terrible cuddler. Please, relax. For me.”

Remus hesitantly relaxed beside her, shifting slightly in a move that could only be interpreted as an invitation for her to move closer. Tonks, never one to shy away from what she wanted, snuggled in close, pressing her body along his side and resting her head on his chest. She could feel the rumble of laughter in his chest.

“Better?” He asked.

“Much. Thank you.”

“Good, now go to sleep.”

“You get some sleep too.”

Curled in against Remus’ side, Tonks found it much easier to begin drifting off as she noticed little things about him. He was warm and his jumper was soft. He smelled of fresh laundry and earl grey tea. The rhythm of his breathing and his heartbeat served to help her finish drifting off to sleep.

She didn’t stir again until harsh beams of sunlight were cutting through the darkness of her closed eyelids and a voice was speaking to them from nearby.

“Oi, lovebirds, get up.”

Tonks sat up, needing to disentangle herself from Remus’ arms in order to do so. Remus too was stirring and getting to his feet.

“Hector’s back. He’ll speak to you in the food cellar, over there.” The red-head who they had spoken with the night before told them.

Tonks rubbed sleep from her eyes as she led the way over to the ramshackle shed. The ‘food cellar’ looked and smelled more like a butcher’s. The smell of blood was heavy in the air. Two men were skinning a large elk on a wooden table as they approached, and blood and bits of fur littered the ground around the shed.

A man they hadn’t met the night before was tossing a handful of what appeared to be animal intestines into a bucket as they approached. He, to Tonks’ horror, licked his bloody fingers clean instead of wiping them on a cloth, or washing them in a sink.

“You must be Hector.” Remus addressed the man.

“I must be. I heard there were two strangers looking for me.” The man replied, eyeing them curiously.

“We want to help Tiago.”

“No, you want my information. You are willing to help Tiago.” Hector corrected him. 

“True. If it benefits us both in the end, all the better, right?”

“Fair enough. I believe in fair trade.” Hector replied. “How will you help Tiago?”

“We have friends in the right places to see that he gets an honest hearing, a fair trial.”

“For our kind? Not a chance.”

“Yes, there are those, even within the Ministry, who care for our plight, who care for truth. We can see to it that he gets the right to defend his innocence.”  
It took some more cajoling. Remus proved to be just as patient and caring in this as he was in most other things, and eventually Hector agreed to let them try to help his friend. 

“Tiago used to frequent this place, it’s a bit of a fringe place. You get all sorts there. He bussed tables there, bartended, he kind of liked peeking in at the old world.” Hector told them. “He met someone there, a man. He got in deep with him quickly. Zero to one hundred, he was all about this guy all the time. An uppity guy. Worked for the Ministry, in the legal offices. One day though, things go sour, Tiago started talking all crazy about how he’d seen some shit. He thought he was in danger, kept talking all conspiracy-like. Big brother was out to get him. I thought he was nuts, man. But then he was arrested.”

Remus and Tonks listened to Hector’s tale, trying to retain and sort through this information. 

“This place, do you know the name? Or where it was?” Tonks asked.

“Mirage Night. Two towns over from here.” Hector told her.

“and the guy, did you get a name, or what he looked like?”

“No, no name. All I know is he was a white guy, about Tiago’s age, rich, average looking.” Hector told them. 

“Thanks for your time. We’ll do whatever we can to help Tiago.” Tonks assured him.

Tonks couldn’t blame Remus for feeling relieved when they left the encampment and were safely back inside Grimmauld place’s walls. The men had been courteous, not overtly hostile, but the overwhelming cloud of poverty and despair that clung to the place was extremely draining. It was emotionally taxing to be in a place of such suffering and knowing that it was the result of such a massive systemic problem that you may not see it solved within your lifetime.

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1 is setting up the characters, chapter 2 will introduce the undercover mission premise, and the action will pick up from there!


End file.
